Association between multi-component initiatives and physical activity-related behaviors: interim findings from the Healthy Schools Healthy Communities initiative.

Background: Although successful, assessment of multi-component initiatives (MCIs) prove to be very challenging. Further, rigorous evaluations may not be viable, especially when assessing the impact of MCIs on long-term population-level behavior change (e.g.

Overcoming Challenges Resulting From COVID-19: New York State's Creating Healthy Schools and Communities Initiative.

"Upstream" interventions that increase access or reduce barriers to healthy foods and opportunities for physical activity - referred to as policy, systems, or environmental strategies - are central to encouraging and supporting healthy behaviors that prevent chronic disease at a population level. However, they are complex and challenging to execute, especially during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and efforts to build practitioner capacity are warranted. In this commentary, we describe a user or human-centered design (HCD) capacity-building approach to support practitioners in accomplishing the goals of the New York State Creating Healthy Schools and Communities (CHSC) initiative.

Very early onset of autoimmune thyroiditis in a toddler with severe hypothyroidism presentation: a case report.

Background: In infants under 3 years of age acquired primary hypothyroidism caused by autoimmune thyroiditis is very rare. Hypothyroidism can manifest with different signs and symptoms and has a wide range of presentations from subclinical hypothyroidism to overt form. We describe a child with acquired autoimmune thyroiditis during a very early period of life and with a severe hypothyroidism presentation.

Long-Term Provision of Environmental Resources Alters Behavior but not Physiology or Neuroanatomy of Male and Female BALB/c and C57BL/6 Mice.

Few studies have evaluated the long-term effects of providing environmental resources to mice. This consideration is important given that mice are often maintained in vivaria for months. We evaluated the effects of providing simple cage resources (wood wool, cotton nesting material, a plastic tunnel, and oat cereal) compared with standard housing (solid-bottom cage with hardwood chips) to group-housed adult male and female C57BL/6 and BALB/c mice (n = 20/sex/strain/group) over 6 mo to determine whether these resources had a lasting effect on animal physiology, anatomy, and behavior.

Bioavailable Vitamin D in Obese Children: The Role of Insulin Resistance.

Context: Studies examining vitamin D levels in association with childhood obesity usually do not consider the effect of insulin on vitamin D-binding protein and do not calculate the unbound, bioavailable vitamin D.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate in a group of children 1) the concentrations of both total 25-hydroxyvitamin D and bioavailable fraction, and 2) the potential role of insulin resistance in modulating the concentrations of bioavailable vitamin D. Design, Setting, and Patients or Other Participants: This was a cross-sectional study at a University Pediatric Department in which 63 obese children and 21 lean controls were enrolled.

Chronic HCV infection is a risk of atherosclerosis. Role of HCV and HCV-related steatosis.

Objectives: HCV and NAFLD are associated with atherosclerosis in general population. The prevalence of atherosclerosis in chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients is unknown. We hypothesized that HCV per se and HCV-related steatosis could favour atherosclerosis.