Intergenerational understandings of personal, social and community assets for health.

Connecting local citizens of different ages in productive social activity is considered a pathway towards greater health. This research explores how older adults and young people interpret and access assets from their geographical community in relation to their well-being and the extent to which a process of intergenerational bridging contributes to the creation of additional assets for health. Data is presented from a process of place-mapping, interviews, observations and arts-based approaches to: a) understand how personal, social and community assets supported perceived health and wellbeing for the young children and older adults who participated; and b) explore the impact of intergenerational connection on enhancing social capital. The research utilised bonding, bridging and linking forms of social capital, across several interactions amongst 41 individuals who reside in the same geographical community (Victoria, Australia). Assets for health, common across generations and located within the same geographical community were identified. Social connections were strengthened through conversations, reflections and an integration of ideas facilitated through an arts-based approach. Findings suggest that through intergenerational connection and sharing of resources to support health, including the sharing of community assets, progress can be made towards community strengthening with implications for health and wellbeing.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae-based probiotic as novel anti-fungal and anti-inflammatory agent for therapy of vaginal candidiasis.

Previously we demonstrated that the treatment with live Saccharomyces cerevisiae exerts beneficial therapeutic effects against vaginal candidiasis. Here, we address potential mechanisms particularly examining the probiotic capacity to modulate both fungus and host-related factors. We show that the S. cerevisiae-based probiotic markedly affects the expression of virulence traits of Candida albicans such as aspartyl proteinases (SAPs) as well as hyphae-associated proteins Hwp1 and Ece1 in the vaginal cavity. On the host side, the probiotic suppression of the influx of neutrophils caused by the fungus into the vaginas of the mice is likely related to: (1) lower production of interleukin-8; and (2) inhibition of SAPs expression. However, these neutrophils displayed reactive oxygen species hyperproduction and increased killing activity as compared to the neutrophils of placebo-treated mice. There was no evidence of any cytotoxic effect by the probiotic, either when used in vivo on vaginal epithelial cell and organ architecture, or in in vitro in human vaginal epithelium. Inactivated yeast cells did not affect any of the factors above. In summary, the data suggest that the beneficial effect exerted by this S. cerevisiae-based probiotic is the result of its interference with the expression of fungus virulence factors coupled with the modulation of the inflammatory response of the host.

Riding with the sharks: serious leisure cyclist's perceptions of sharing the road with motorists.

As serious leisure cyclists increase their presence on Australian public roads, there have been reports within the popular and mainstream literature of a growing tension between these cyclists and other road users. Until now, there has been limited research exploring the relationship between serious leisure cyclists and other road users as it pertains to issues of safety and motivations to cycle for leisure. This mixed methods research provides insights into a particular cohort of serious leisure cyclists and their experiences of sharing the roads with motorists. Analysis reveals a range of concerns amongst this sub-group, mediated by factors such as age, experience and environment. The paper calls for a differential focus on sub-groups of cyclists when considering policy formation, regulation and safe provision for cyclists on roads.

Instrumentation and Motivations for Organised Cycling: The Development of the Cyclist Motivation Instrument (CMI).

'Serious leisure' cycling has developed as a reinterpretation of the traditional form of the sport. This short term, informal, unstructured and unconventional conceptualisation represents a challenge to participant numbers in the mainstream sport. The purpose of this study was twofold: (i) to ascertain the cultural, subcultural and ecological factors of participation in this new conceptualised form enabling clubs, associations and governments to a deeper understanding about participants practices and (ii) as an ongoing validation to previous qualitative work (see O'Connor and Brown, 2005). This study reports on the development and psychometric properties (principal components analysis, confirmatory factor analysis) of the Cyclists' Motivation Instrument. Four hundred and twenty two cyclists (371 males, 51 females) who were registered members of the state competitive cycling body completed a fifty-one item instrument. Five factors were identified: social, embodiment, self-presentation, exploring environments and physical health outcomes and these accounted for 47.2% of the variance. Factor alpha coefficients ranged from .63 to .88, overall scale reliability was .92, suggesting moderate to high reliability for each of the factors and the overall scale. Key pointsSerious leisure' cyclists' are fitness seeking enthusiasts that attach different meanings to the act of cycling and participate in different physical, social and natural environments in comparison to other cyclists.This study develops and validates a new tool, the Cyclists Motivation Instrument (CMI), and presents the initial psychometric properties (principal components analysis, confirmatory factor analysis).FIVE FACTORS WERE IDENTIFIED: social, embodiment, self-presentation, exploring environments and physical health outcomes.The scale demonstrates adequate reliability (total scale, α = 0.92) and validity.

Agitation induced mycelial fragmentation of Aspergillus oryzae and Penicillium chrysogenum.

Given the impact of mycelial morphology on fermentation performance, it is important to understand the factors that influence it, including agitation-induced fragmentation. The successful application of the energy dissipation/circulation function (EDC) to correlate fragmentation of Penicillium chrysogenum with agitation intensity and with different impeller types [5] has already been demonstrated. The EDC function takes into account the specific energy dissipation rate in the impeller swept volume and the frequency of mycelial circulation through that volume. In order to explore whether the EDC function can be used more generally to correlate fragmentation of different filamentous species, the present study extended the concept to agitation-induced, off-line fragmentation of Aspergillus oryzae grown in chemostat culture. The work shows that at EDC values off-line greater than that in the chemostat, fragmentation with different impellers can be correlated with the EDC. For EDC values less than those used in the chemostat, fragmentation did not occur. The earlier results of Jüsten et al. [5] with Penicillium chrysogenum are also reconsidered and found to behave similarly.

Dependence of mycelial morphology on impeller type and agitation intensity.

The influence of the agitation conditions on the morphology of Penicillium chrysogenum (freely dispersed and aggregated forms) was examined using radial (Rushton turbines and paddles), axial (pitched blades, propeller, and Prochem Maxflow T), and counterflow impellers (Intermig). Culture broth was taken from a continuous fermentation at steady state and was agitated for 30 min in an ungassed vessel of 1.4-L working volume. The power inputs per unit volume of liquid in the tank, P/V(L), ranged from 0.6 to 6 kW/m(3). Image analysis was used to measure mycelial morphology. To characterize the intensity of the damage caused by different impellers, the mean total hyphal length (freely dispersed form) and the mean projected area (all dispersed types, i.e., also including aggregates) were used. [In this study, breakage of aggregates was taken into account quantitatively for the first time.]At 1.4-L scale and a given P/V(L), changes in the morphology depended significantly on the impeller geometry. However, the morphological data (obtained with different geometries and various P/V(L)) could be correlated on the basis of equal tip speed and two other, less simple, mixing parameters. One is based on the specific energy dissipation rate in the impeller region, which is simply related to P/V(L) and particular impeller geometrical parameters. The other which is developed in this study is based on a combination of the specific energy dissipation rate in the impeller swept volume and the frequency of mycelial circulation through that volume. For convenience, the function arising from this concept is called the "energy dissipation/circulation" function.To test the broader validity of these correlations, scale-up experiments were carried out in mixing tanks of 1.4, 20, and 180 L using a Rushton turbine and broth from a fed-batch fermentation. The energy dissipation/circulation function was a reasonable correlating parameter for hyphal damage over this range of scales, whereas tip speed, P/V(L), and specific energy dissipation rate in the impeller region were poor. Two forms of the energy dissipation/circulation function were considered, one of which additionally allowed for the numbers of vortices behind the blades of each impeller type. Although both forms were successful at correlating the data for the standard impeller designs considered here, there was preliminary evidence that allowing for the vortices would be valuable. (c) 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.