Systematic review and meta analysis of psychological interventions to prevent or treat pediatric chronic disease in rural communities.

Objective: The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to examine the effectiveness of psychological interventions at improving physical or mental health outcomes for youth living in rural communities who have, or are at-risk for, any chronic medical condition in comparison to control interventions conducted in rural communities.

Methods: Following prospective registration (OSF.IO/7TDQJ), 7 databases were searched through July 1, 2023.

Effects of Childcare Hands-On Gardening on Preschoolers' (3-5 Years) Physical Activity in Semi-Arid Climate Zone.

How hands-on gardening impacts behaviors including healthy eating and physical activity during early childhood can be of critical importance for preventing the early onset of obesity. This study investigates how participating in hands-on gardening impacts preschoolers' (3-5 years old) physical activity (measured by accelerometers) in childcare centers in the semi-arid climate zone. The research was conducted in eight licensed childcare centers located in West Texas with 149 children ( = 149).

Observed correlations between the sediment grain size and the high-frequency backscattering strength.

In March 2019, Teledyne RESON and the Applied Physics Laboratory at the University of Washington conducted surveys with a calibrated multibeam echosounder at ten sites in Sequim Bay, a shallow sheltered bay in Washington State, USA. For each site, the mean grain size was obtained from a diver core sample, and estimates of the backscattering strength at frequencies ranging between 200 and 350 kHz were calculated. The correlation between the backscattering strength and the normalized grain size have been investigated for the grazing angles 45° and 75°.

Sport psychology and performance meta-analyses: A systematic review of the literature.

Sport psychology as an academic pursuit is nearly two centuries old. An enduring goal since inception has been to understand how psychological techniques can improve athletic performance. Although much evidence exists in the form of meta-analytic reviews related to sport psychology and performance, a systematic review of these meta-analyses is absent from the literature.

Comparative Performance of Pediatric Weight Estimation Techniques: A Human Factor Errors Analysis.

Objective: We compared performance characteristics of 7 weight estimation methods examining predictive performance and human factors errors.

Methods: This was a prospective study of 80 emergency care providers (raters) and 80 children aged 2 months to 16 years. Raters estimated weights in 5 children with the following 7 strategies: visual estimation, Advanced Pediatric Life Support, Luscombe and Owens, Broselow tape, devised weight estimation method, 2D Mercy TAPE (2DT), and 3D Mercy TAPE (3DT).

Below-gap excitation of semiconducting single-wall carbon nanotubes.

We investigate the optoelectronic properties of the semiconducting (6,5) species of single-walled carbon nanotubes by measuring ultrafast transient transmission changes with 20 fs time resolution. We demonstrate that photons with energy below the lowest exciton resonance efficiently lead to linear excitation of electronic states. This finding challenges the established picture of a vanishing optical absorption below the fundamental excitonic resonance.

High energetic excitons in carbon nanotubes directly probe charge-carriers.

Theory predicts peculiar features for excited-state dynamics in one dimension (1D) that are difficult to be observed experimentally. Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) are an excellent approximation to 1D quantum confinement, due to their very high aspect ratio and low density of defects. Here we use ultrafast optical spectroscopy to probe photogenerated charge-carriers in (6,5) semiconducting SWNTs.

Probing suggested catalytic domains of glycosyltransferases by site-directed mutagenesis.

The plant enzyme arbutin synthase isolated from cell suspension cultures of Rauvolfia serpentina and heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli is a member of the NRD1beta family of glycosyltransferases. This enzyme was used to prove, by site-directed mutagenesis, suggested catalytic domains and reaction mechanisms proposed for enzyme-catalyzed glycosylation. Replacement of amino acids far from the NRD domain do not significantly affect arbutin synthase activity.

Arbutin synthase, a novel member of the NRD1beta glycosyltransferase family, is a unique multifunctional enzyme converting various natural products and xenobiotics.

Plant glucosyltransferases (GTs) play a crucial role in natural product biosynthesis and metabolization of xenobiotics. We expressed the arbutin synthase (AS) cDNA from Rauvolfia serpentina cell suspension cultures in Escherichia coli with a 6 x His tag and purified the active enzyme to homogeneity. The recombinant enzyme had a temperature optimum of 50 degrees C and showed two different pH optima (4.

Utilizing genetically engineered bacteria to produce plant-specific glucosides.

Plant-derived glucosides have attracted much attention due to their widespread applications. This class of products is difficult to isolate or to synthesize in pure form because of the resulting low yields. Thus, simple approaches for the generation of such glucosides would be highly beneficial.