Cognitively engaging movement games improve interference control and academic performance in overweight children: A randomized control trial.

The purpose of this study was to determine the (a) dose-response effects of cognitively engaging movement games (CEMGs) designed to improve aerobic capacity, interference control (IC), and academic performance, (b) relationship between intervention-induced improvements in aerobic capacity, IC, and academic performance, and (c) moderation effect of IC on the relationship between aerobic capacity and academic performance in overweight children. Seventy-five overweight children (aged 11.23 ± 0.60 years; 48% males) participated in this study conducted in Taipei during the 2018/2019 academic year and were randomly assigned to the low-dose (20-min) intervention, high-dose (40-min) intervention, and control groups and completed a Stroop test, half-mile run, and language and mathematics tests before and after a 10-week afterschool program. Both intervention groups showed similar improvements in outcomes of aerobic capacity (ds > 0.80), IC (ds > 0.76), and academic performance (ds > 0.90) from the pretest to posttest, whereas these outcomes were unchanged for the control group. Furthermore, improved IC moderated the association between improvements in aerobic capacity and academic performance. Our findings suggest that CEMG with varying doses is feasible and effective for improving aerobic capacity, IC, and academic performance in overweight children and that the association between improvements in aerobic capacity and academic performance depends on the intervention effects on IC.

Physical self-concept and body dissatisfaction among Special Olympics athletes: A comparison between sex, weight status, and culture.

BACKGROUND: Little research has looked at the associations between sex, weight status and culture, and the physical self-perceptions and body dissatisfaction of individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID) involved in Special Olympics (SO) sports. AIMS: To examine sex- (male vs female), weight status- (non-overweight/obese vs. overweight/obese), and culture-based (North American vs. Asian) differences in physical self-concept and body dissatisfaction among SO athletes. METHODS AND PROCEDURES: A total of 139 SO athletes (aged 12-30 years) with ID participated in this study and completed measures of physical self-perceptions and body dissatisfaction. Differences according to sex, weight status, culture, and their interactions were examined. OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: Males SO athletes presented higher levels of self-perceived physical strength and ideal body shape than females. Additionally, non-overweight/obese SO athletes presented higher levels of self-perceived physical appearance and physical condition than their overweight/obese counterparts, as well as lower actual body shape perceptions and body dissatisfaction. Moreover, North-American SO athletes presented higher levels of self-perceived physical appearance and sport competence than their Asians counterparts, as well as lower actual body shapes perceptions and body dissatisfaction. CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS: This study reveals substantial sex-, weight status-, and culture-based differences in the physical self-concept and body dissatisfaction of SO athletes.

Exploring physical self-concept perceptions in athletes with intellectual disabilities: the participation of Unified Sports experiences.

OBJECTIVES: Self-description research on athletes with intellectual disabilities (ID) is under investigated. The specific aims in this paper are (a) to identify the differences in physical self-concept and body image by Unified Sports experiences, and (b) to investigate predictors of physical self-concept. METHODS: Participants included 89 Special Olympics athletes who had Unified Sports experiences (USE, n = 43) and those without USE (n = 46). Demographic, anthropometric, self-description data were collected during the questionnaire interview and physical examination. Analyses included descriptive and regression modeling to determine differences in the psychological attributes by USE and best subsets of predictors of each physical self-concept construct. RESULTS: The findings suggest that the participation of USE facilitated greater sport competence and there is no single predictor across the six physical self-concept constructs. CONCLUSION: The findings provide evidence that sports participation may have positive impacts on physical self-concept toward athletes with ID.

Increased pollinator service and reduced pollen limitation in the fixed dune populations of a desert shrub.

Evaluations of restoration success usually focus on the structural aspects of ecosystems. Pollination, as an important functional aspect, is often overlooked. Here, the shifts in pollinator assemblage and pollen limitation in the desert shrub Caragana microphylla were examined along a restoration gradient in Horqin Sand Land, northern China. We identified seven species of bees; however, only four bee species were found to be effective pollinators, with Xanthosaurus remota dominating in the fixed dunes, and with no bee species or only a single species, X. remota, being observed in the semi-fixed and mobile dunes. Flower visitation rate was nearly ten times higher in the fixed dunes than in the mobile and semi-fixed dunes. Experimental floral manipulations revealed that the fixed dune populations experienced less pollen limitation, along with the increase in pollinator availability. Between the mobile and semi-fixed dune populations, pollen limitation was severe and at similar levels. The intensity of pollen limitation was negatively related to pollinator abundance and richness. Overall, the dependence on pollinators for reproduction may be an important constraint that limits persistence in this system. Increased pollinator service during the restoration process may ameliorate pollen limitation, benefiting the restoration of vegetation in this semiarid sandy area.

Earlier flowering did not alter pollen limitation in an early flowering shrub under short-term experimental warming.

In animal pollinated plants, phenological shifts caused by climate change may have important ecological consequences. However, no empirical evidence exists at present on the consequences that flowering phenology shifts have on the strength of pollen limitation under experimental warming. Here, we investigated the effects of experimental warming on flowering phenology, flower density, reproductive success, and pollen limitation intensity in Caragana microphylla and evaluated whether earlier flowering phenology affected plant reproduction and the level of pollen limitation using warmed and unwarmed open top chambers in the Horqin Sandy Land of Inner Mongolia, northern China. The results of this study indicated that artificial warming markedly advanced flower phenology rather than extending the duration of the flowering. Additionally, warming was found to significantly reduce flower density which led to seed production reduction, since there were insignificant effects observed on fruit set and seed number per fruit. Experimental floral manipulations showed that warming did not affect pollen limitation. These results revealed the negative effects of advanced phenology induced by warming on flower density and reproductive output, as well as the neutral effects on reproductive success and pollen limitation intensity of long surviving plants.

Prevalence of overweight and obesity among students with intellectual disabilities in Taiwan: A secondary analysis.

PURPOSE: The study aims to investigate the prevalence and likelihood of overweight and obesity in a large sample of students with intellectual disabilities (ID) from Taiwan. METHOD: A secondary analysis of a cross sectional study was employed to examine the body weight status among 7 to 18 year-old students with ID enrolled in public special education schools in 2013. The students were divided into three age groups (7-12 yrs, 13-15 yrs, and 16-18 yrs), four ID levels (mild, moderate, severe, and profound) and six comorbidities of ID (ID only, ID caused by genetic disorders, ID with physical disability, ID with multiple disabilities without physical disabilities, ID with autism spectrum disorders, and others with rare diseases). RESULTS: The sample represented 34.8% of students with ID attending public special education schools in Taiwan. Within this sample, 35.2% were identified as being overweight or obese. The 16 to 18 year-old age group were approximately two times (AOR=2.02, more likely to be obese than the 7-12 year-old group. Students with ID caused by genetic disorders such as Down syndrome (AOR=2.00) appeared to be more overweight or obese in comparison to those with ID only. Students with moderate (AOR=1.64) and severe ID (AOR=1.49) were more overweight/obese compared to those with profound ID. CONCLUSION: The findings not only highlight the high prevalence of overweight/obesity but also stress the need for health promotion initiatives to address issues of overweight/obesity within this population.

[Physiological response of corn seedlings to changes of wind-sand flow strength].

Corn seedlings are often harmed by strong wind-sand in the spring in semi-arid wind-sand area of west of Northeast China. In order to understand physiological response mechanisms of the corn seedlings to wind-sand damage, the changes in MDA content, membrane permeability, protective enzymes activities and osmotic regulation substances at 0 (CK) , 6, 9, 12, 15 and 18 m . s-1 wind speed (wind-sand flow strength: 0, 1.00, 28.30, 63.28, 111.82 and 172.93 g . cm-1 . min-1, respectively) for 10 min duration were studied during the spring, 2013 in the Horqin Sand Land of Inner Mongolia. The results showed that effects of wind-sand flow blowing on the RWC of the corn seedling were lighter in the 6-12 m . s-1 treatments, but the RWC decreased by 19.0% and 18.7% in the 15 m . s-1 and 18 m . s-1 treatments compared to the CK, respectively. The MDA content tended to decline with increasing the wind-sand flow strength, and decreased by 35.0% and 39.0% in the 15 m . s-1 and 18 m . s-1 treatments compared to the CK, respectively. The membrane permeability increased significantly with increasing the wind-sand flow strength, and increased by 191.3% and 187.8% in the 15 m . s-1 and 18 m . s-1 treatments compared to the CK, respectively. With the increase of wind-sand flow strength, SOD activities decreased and changes of CAT activities were not significant, only POD activities increased significantly, which played an important role in the process of scavenging reactive oxygen species and protecting cell membrane against damage. For lighter water stress caused, by wind-sand flow blowing, proline and soluble sugar did not play any role in osmotic adjustment, but the proline content increased by 11.4% and 24.5% in the 15 m . s-1 and 18 m . s-1 treatments compared to the CK, respectively, which played an important role in osmotic adjustment.

[Characteristics of soil macrofaunal community structure in secondary forest and forest plantations in western Qinling Mountains of Northwest China].

Long-term disturbance of human beings on secondary forest ecosystem would have profound impacts on belowground ecological processes, whereas the community structure and functional diversity of soil fauna would be sensitive to the changes of belowground ecological processes, with significance as an indicator of the changes. In this study, the method of hand-sorting was adopted to investigate the density of soil macrofaunal community in a secondary forest and the Pinus tabulaeformis, Larix kaempferi, Picea abie, and Picea asperata plantations of nearly 30 years old in Xiaolongshan forest area of western Qinling Mountains, and the PCA ordination and one-way ANOVA analysis were applied to analyze the community structure and trophic group composition of soil macrofauna in the five forest types. In the P. tabulaeformis and L. kaempferi plantations, the density of soil macrofaunal community was 3.0 and 2.1 times of that in the secondary forest, respectively, and the consumers/decomposers ratio of the community was obviously higher than that in the secondary forest. Among the plantations, P. tabulaeformis and L. kaempferi plantations had a significantly higher consumers/decomposers ratio of soil macrofaunal community than P. abies and P. asperata plantations. There was an obvious difference in community structure of soil macrofauna among the four plantations. The density of soil macrofaunal community in P. tabulaeformis and L. kaempferi plantations was 3.5 and 2.1 times higher than that in P. asperata plantation, respectively, whereas the group richness of soil macrofaunal community in P. tabulaeformis plantation was 1.5 times of that in P. abies and P. asperata plantations.