• A self-study using action research: changing site expectations and practice stereotypes

      Casey, Ashley (2012)
      Practice is not created and developed by individual teachers but is subject to what Kemmis and Grootenboer called ‘extra-individual conditions’ and cultural histories. The ‘expectations’ around teaching do much to create stereotypes and conformity around how to teach and how to act in schools. This paper explores a teacher’s longitudinal self-study of pedagogical and curricular change through reflective practice and ‘insider’ action research. The findings show that pedagogical and curricular change is more than a personal desire to do something differently. Instead, it is a process of acknowledging expectation – student, teacher, institutional, and subject – and finding ways of working within, around and between these. Furthermore, insider action research is shown as a tool for positioning the practitioner in the ‘betweenness’ of theory and practice. However, the paper concludes that while insider action research is a vital ingredient in sustained curriculum renewal, it needs to be hand-in-hand with collaboration with significant others inside and/or outside the school, and it needs to engage in a critique of the extra-individual conditions as part of the reflective process.
    • Accelerometry-assessed sedentary behaviour and physical activity levels during the segmented school day in 10–14-year-old children: the HAPPY study

      Bailey, Daniel Paul; Fairclough, Stuart J.; Savory, Louise A.; Denton, Sarah J.; Pang, Dong; Deane, Colleen S.; Kerr, Catherine J. (Springer, 2012)
      The school day offers several different time periods that provide varying opportunities for sedentary time (SED) and engagement in physical activity (PA), yet little is known about the PA and sedentary behaviour patterns of boys and girls during these times. The volume, intensity and temporal distributions of SED and PA undertaken by 135 schoolchildren aged 10-14 years, during different segments of the school day: (a) school transport, (b) morning recess, (c) lunch break, (d) class time and (e) after school, were explored using triaxial accelerometry. PA was categorised into SED, light PA (LPA), moderate PA (MPA) and vigorous PA (VPA). Girls engaged in significantly more SED and LPA than boys during recess and lunch break (p < 0.05), while boys engaged in significantly higher levels of VPA during recess (p < 0.001) and MPA and VPA during lunch break (p < 0.001). PA engagement was similar between sexes during other segments of the day. Conclusion: PA patterns appear more beneficial for health in boys during less structured school-based time periods and interventions may therefore target opportunities for girls to be physically active during these times to overcome this observed sex deficit.
    • Action research in physical education: focusing beyond myself through cooperative learning

      Casey, Ashley; Dyson, Ben; Campbell, Anne; University of Bedfordshire (2012-05-15)
      This paper reports on the pedagogical changes that I experienced as a teacher engaged in an action research project in which I designed and implemented an indirect, developmentally appropriate and child‐centred approach to my teaching. There have been repeated calls to expunge – or at least rationalise – the use of traditional, teacher‐led practice in physical education. Yet despite the advocacy of many leading academics there is little evidence that such a change of approach is occurring. In my role as teacher‐as‐researcher I sought to implement a new pedagogical approach, in the form of cooperative learning, and bring about a positive change in the form of enhanced pupil learning. Data collection included a reflective journal, post‐teaching reflective analysis, pupil questionnaires, student interviews, document analysis, and non‐participant observations. The research team analysed the data using inductive analysis and constant comparison. Six themes emerged from the data: teaching and learning, reflections on cooperation, performance, time, teacher change, and social interaction. The paper argues that cooperative learning allowed me to place social and academic learning goals on an even footing, which in turn placed a focus on pupils’ understanding and improvement of skills in athletics alongside their interpersonal development.
    • Active citizenship through sport education

      O'Donovan, Toni M.; MacPhail, Ann; Kirk, David (Routledge, 2010-05)
    • Acute antioxidant pre-treatment attenuates endothelial microparticle release after decompression

      Chrismas, Bryna C.; Midgley, Adrian W.; Taylor, Lee; Vince, Rebecca V.; Laden, Gerard; Madden, Leigh A. (South Pacific Underwater Medicine Society (SPUMS), 2010-12)
      The hyperbaric and hyperoxic effects of a dive have been demonstrated to elicit changes in oxidative stress, endothelial function and microparticle (MP) release. Endothelial MP, which are small membrane vesicles shed from the endothelium, have been suggested as a valid in vivo marker of endothelial function. Furthermore, recent research has shown an increase in CD105 MP post-dive to be associated with a decline in endothelial function. The aim of this study was to ascertain whether antioxidant (AOX) pre-treatment can attenuate increased CD105 MP release post-dive.
    • Acute effect of fatmax exercise on the metabolism in overweight and nonoverweight girls

      Zakrzewski-Fruer, Julia K.; Tolfrey, Keith (Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins, 2012)
      Acute exercise can reduce postprandial insulin concentrations and increase fat oxidation in adults, which may have important implications for insulin resistance and weight control. However, similar studies with young people or comparing overweight (OW) and nonoverweight (NO) individuals are sparse. Therefore, the acute effect of Fatmax exercise on glucose, insulin, and fat oxidation was examined in 12 OW and 15 NO girls.
    • Acute hypoxia and exercise improve insulin sensitivity (SI2*) in individuals with type 2 diabetes

      Mackenzie, Richard W.; Maxwell, Neil S.; Castle, Paul C.; Brickley, Gary; Watt, Peter (2011)
    • Adaptive radiation-induced epigenetic alterations mitigated by antioxidants

      Bernal, Autumn J.; Dolinoy, Dana C.; Huang, Dale; Skaar, David A.; Weinhouse, Caren; Jirtle, Randy L. (Federation of American Society of Experimental Biology, 2012)
      Humans are exposed to low-dose ionizing radiation (LDIR) from a number of environmental and medical sources. In addition to inducing genetic mutations, there is concern that LDIR may also alter the epigenome. Such heritable effects early in life can either be positively adaptive or result in the enhanced formation of diseases, including cancer, diabetes, and obesity. Herein, we show that LDIR significantly increased DNA methylation at the viable yellow agouti (A(vy)) locus in a sex-specific manner (P=0.004). Average DNA methylation was significantly increased in male offspring exposed to doses between 0.7 and 7.6 cGy, with maximum effects at 1.4 and 3.0 cGy (P<0.01). Offspring coat color was concomitantly shifted toward pseudoagouti (P<0.01). Maternal dietary antioxidant supplementation mitigated both the DNA methylation changes and coat color shift in the irradiated offspring. Thus, LDIR exposure during gestation elicits epigenetic alterations that lead to positive adaptive phenotypic changes that are negated with antioxidants, indicating they are mediated in part by oxidative stress. These findings provide evidence that in the isogenic A(vy) mouse model, epigenetic alterations resulting from LDIR play a role in radiation hormesis, bringing into question the assumption that every dose of radiation is harmful.
    • The affective paradox: an emotion regulatory account of ethnic differences in self-reported anger

      Consedine, Nathan S.; Magai, C.; Horton, D.; Brown, William Michael; University of Bedfordshire (2012-05-23)
    • Androgens affect myogenesis in vitro and increase local IGF-1 expression

      Sculthorpe, Nicholas; Solomon, Andrew M.; Sinanan, Andrea C.M.; Bouloux, Pierre-Marc G.; Grace, Fergal; Lewis, Mark P.; University of Bedfordshire (2012-04)
      The mechanism whereby anabolic androgens are associated with hypertrophy of skeletal muscle is incompletely understood but may involve an interaction with locally generated insulin-like growth factor (IGF) 1. The present investigation utilized a cell culture model of human skeletal muscle-derived cell maturation to test the hypothesis that androgens increase differentiation of human muscle precursor cells in vitro and to assess effects of androgen with or without IGF-1 on IGF-1 messenger RNA (mRNA) expression in human muscle precursor cells.
    • Appetite and gut hormone responses to moderate-intensity continuous exercise versus high-intensity interval exercise, in normoxic and hypoxic conditions

      Bailey, Daniel Paul; Smith, Lindsey Rachel; Chrismas, Bryna C.; Taylor, Lee; Stensel, David J.; Deighton, Kevin; Douglas, Jessica A.; Kerr, Catherine J.; University of Bedfordshire; Oxford Brookes University; et al. (Elsevier, 2015-02-17)
      This study investigated the effects of continuous moderate-intensity exercise (MIE) and high-intensity interval exercise (HIIE) in combination with short exposure to hypoxia on appetite and plasma concentrations of acylated ghrelin, peptide YY (PYY), and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1). Twelve healthy males completed four, 2.6 h trials in a random order: (1) MIE-normoxia, (2) MIE-hypoxia, (3) HIIE-normoxia, and (4) HIIE-hypoxia. Exercise took place in an environmental chamber. During MIE, participants ran for 50 min at 70% of altitude-specific maximal oxygen uptake (View the MathML sourceV˙O2max) and during HIIE performed 6 × 3 min running at 90% View the MathML sourceV˙O2max interspersed with 6 × 3 min active recovery at 50% View the MathML sourceV˙O2max with a 7 min warm-up and cool-down at 70% View the MathML sourceV˙O2max (50 min total). In hypoxic trials, exercise was performed at a simulated altitude of 2980 m (14.5% O2). Exercise was completed after a standardised breakfast. A second meal standardised to 30% of participants' daily energy requirements was provided 45 min after exercise. Appetite was suppressed more in hypoxia than normoxia during exercise, post-exercise, and for the full 2.6 h trial period (linear mixed modelling, p < 0.05). Plasma acylated ghrelin concentrations were lower in hypoxia than normoxia post-exercise and for the full 2.6 h trial period (p < 0.05). PYY concentrations were higher in HIIE than MIE under hypoxic conditions during exercise (p = 0.042). No differences in GLP-1 were observed between conditions (p > 0.05). These findings demonstrate that short exposure to hypoxia causes suppressions in appetite and plasma acylated ghrelin concentrations. Furthermore, appetite responses to exercise do not appear to be influenced by exercise modality.
    • Assessment for and of learning

      Newton, Angela; Bowler, Mark (Routledge, 2010)
    • The association between cardiorespiratory fitness and cardiometabolic risk in children is mediated by abdominal adiposity: the HAPPY study

      Bailey, Daniel Paul; Savory, Louise A.; Denton, Sarah J.; Kerr, Catherine J.; University of Bedfordshire; Newcastle University; Oxford Brookes University (Human Kinetics, 2014-10-13)
      Background: It is unclear whether cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) is independently linked to cardiometabolic risk in children. This study investigated a) the association between CRF level and presence of cardiometabolic risk disorders using health-related cut points, and b) whether these associations were mediated by abdominal adiposity in children. Methods: This was a cross-sectional design study. Anthropometry, biochemical parameters and CRF were assessed in 147 schoolchildren (75 girls) aged 10-14 years. CRF was determined using a maximal cycle ergometer test. Children were classified as ‘fit’ or ‘unfit’ according to published thresholds. Logistic regression was used to investigate the odds of having individual and clustered cardiometabolic risk factors according to CRF level and whether abdominal adiposity mediated these associations. Results: Children classified as unfit had increased odds of presenting individual and clustered cardiometabolic risk factors (p < 0.05), but these associations no longer remained after adjusting for abdominal adiposity (p > 0.05). Conclusions: This study suggests that the association between CRF and cardiometabolic risk is mediated by abdominal adiposity in 10-14 year-old children and that abdominal adiposity may be a more important determinant of adverse cardiometabolic health in this age group.
    • Associations between cardiorespiratory fitness, physical activity and clustered cardiometabolic risk in children and adolescents: the HAPPY study

      Bailey, Daniel Paul; Boddy, Lynne M.; Savory, Louise A.; Denton, Sarah J.; Kerr, Catherine J.; University of Bedfordshire (2012-03-15)
      Clustering of cardiometabolic risk factors can occur during childhood and predisposes individuals to cardiometabolic disease. This study calculated clustered cardiometabolic risk in 100 children and adolescents aged 10-14 years (59 girls) and explored differences according to cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) levels and time spent at different physical activity (PA) intensities. CRF was determined using a maximal cycle ergometer test, and PA was assessed using accelerometry. A cardiometabolic risk score was computed as the sum of the standardised scores for waist circumference, blood pressure, total cholesterol/high-density lipoprotein ratio, triglycerides and glucose. Differences in clustered cardiometabolic risk between fit and unfit participants, according to previously proposed health-related threshold values, and between tertiles for PA subcomponents were assessed using ANCOVA. Clustered risk was significantly lower (p < 0.001) in the fit group (mean 1.21 ± 3.42) compared to the unfit group (mean -0.74 ± 2.22), while no differences existed between tertiles for any subcomponent of PA. Conclusion These findings suggest that CRF may have an important cardioprotective role in children and adolescents and highlights the importance of promoting CRF in youth.
    • At the storm centre is China but not Liu Xiang

      Wu, Ping (World Academic Press, 2011-07)
    • Biomechanics of ankle instability. Part 1: reaction time to simulated ankle sprain

      Mitchell, Andrew C.S.; Dyson, Rosemary; Hale, Tudor; Abraham, Corinne (American College of Sports Medicine, 2008)
      The purpose of the study was to test the hypothesis that ankles with functional instability will demonstrate slower muscular reaction times than their contralateral stable ankle (SA) and stable healthy controls to a simulated nonpathological ankle sprain mechanism. Results demonstrate a deficit (slower reaction time) in ankles with FAI when acting in support and when exposed to a simulated sprain compared to stable healthy controls. As a result of slower reaction times, acting to support the UA may put the contralateral SA at an increased risk of ankle sprain. This suggests that rehabilitation of a lateral ankle sprain should include strengthening the evertors (peroneals and EDL) at the subtalar joint and the dorsiflexors (TA and EDL) at the talocrural joint.
    • Biomechanics of ankle instability. Part 2: postural sway-reaction time relationship

      Mitchell, Andrew C.S.; Dyson, Rosemary; Hale, Tudor; Abraham, Corinne (American College of Sports Medicine, 2008)
      The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that ankles with functional instability will demonstrate greater single-limb postural sway (PS) than their contralateral stable joint and stable healthy controls and to examine the relationship between single-limb postural sway and muscular reaction time to a simulated ankle sprain mechanism. Results reveal postural sway deficits in ankles with FAI. They also demonstrate a significant relationship between PL and PB reaction times and postural sway in UA. Individuals who sustain an acute ankle sprain and those with FAI require rehabilitation that improves proprioception, strengthens the evertors and dorsiflexors, and restores peroneal reaction time.
    • Breakfast, glycaemic index and health in young people

      Tolfrey, Keith; Zakrzewski-Fruer, Julia K. (Elsevier, 2012)
      The purpose of this paper was to extend previous reviews on breakfast consumption and health to provide a greater understanding of the role of breakfast composition, particularly breakfast GI. Unlike the evidence on breakfast consumption, which has often been based on large cross-sectional studies, the evidence on breakfast GI is based primarily on controlled experimental studies, often with relatively small samples. At times, it was necessary to refer to the adult-based literature in this review to support findings from young people or to highlight areas that are particularly lacking in empirical evidence in this population. Since breakfast consumption has declined in young people and also decreases from childhood to adolescence, strategies to promote regular consumption of a healthy breakfast in young people are warranted. Future research in young people should place greater emphasis on breakfast composition, consider the mechanisms controlling relationships between breakfast consumption and health, and investigate the benefits of habitual consumption of LGI compared with HGI breakfasts.
    • Breakfast, metabolism, health and cognitive function in young people

      Tolfrey, Keith; Zakrzewski-Fruer, Julia K.; Cooper, Simon B.; Nevill, Mary E. (Nova Publishers Inc, 2012)