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Short-term motor adaptation to novel movement dynamics has been shown to involve at least two concurrent learning processes: a slow process that responds weakly to error but retains information well and a fast process that responds strongly to error but has poor retention. This modeling framework can explain several properties of motion-dependent motor adaptation (e.g., 24 h retention). An important assumption of this computational framework is that learning is only based on the experienced movement error, and the effect of noise (either internally generated or externally applied) is not considered. We examined the respective error sensitivity by quantifying adaptation in three subject groups distinguished by the noise added to the motion-dependent perturbation. We assessed the feedforward adaptive changes in motor output and examined the adaptation rate, retention, and decay of learning. Applying a two-state modeling framework showed that the applied noise during training mainly affected the fast learning process, with the slow process largely unaffected; participants in the higher noise groups demonstrated a reduced force profile following training, but the decay rate across groups was similar, suggesting that the slow process was unimpaired across conditions. Collectively, our results provide evidence that noise significantly decreases motor adaptation, but this reduction may be due to its influence over specific learning mechanisms. Importantly, this may have implications for how the motor system compensates for random fluctuations, especially when affected by brain disorders that result in movement tremor (e.g., essential tremor).

Northern elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris) have been integral to the development and progress of biologging technology and movement data analysis, which continue to improve our understanding of this and other species. Adult female elephant seals at Año Nuevo Reserve and other colonies along the west coast of North America were tracked annually from 2004 to 2020, resulting in a total of 653 instrument deployments. This paper outlines the compilation and curation process of these high-resolution diving and location data, now accessible in two Dryad repositories. The code used for data processing alongside the corresponding workflow is available through GitHub and Zenodo. This data set represents 3,844,927 dives and 596,815 locations collected from 475 individual seals with 178 repeat samplings over 17 years. We anticipate that these data will stimulate further analysis and investigation into elephant seal biology and aid in developing new analytical approaches for large marine predators.

Kinesiophobia, the fear of movement, can significantly impede an individuals ability to engage in daily activities. This fear often stems from past traumatic experiences or witnessing others in pain, leading to an increased fear of injury. This study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Persian version of the Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia among Iranian post-surgery patients. A methodological study conducted in 2023 involved a sample of 400 post-surgery patients selected through convenience sampling. The translated scale underwent psychometric evaluation, including network analysis, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis for construct validity, as well as assessments for convergent and discriminant validity. Internal consistency of the scale was also assessed. The mean age of the participants was 44.38 (SD = 13.49) years and the majority of them (77.8%) were women. Exploratory factor analysis with Promax rotation identified two factors explaining 60.28% of the variance, comprising 17 items. The final model was confirmed after necessary adjustments in confirmatory factor analysis. Both convergent and discriminant validity were established, and alpha and omega coefficients of the subscales were above 0.7. The Persian version of the Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia showed robust psychometric properties among Iranian post-surgery patients, serving as a valuable tool for evaluating and addressing kinesiophobia in this population. These findings enhance the understanding and management of kinesiophobia within the Iranian healthcare context.

BACKGROUND: Motion Tape (MT) is a low-profile, disposable, self-adhesive wearable sensor that measures skin strain. Preliminary studies have validated MT for measuring lower back movement. However, further analysis is needed to determine if MT can be used to measure lower back muscle engagement. The purpose of this study was to measure differences in MT strain between conditions in which the lower back muscles were relaxed versus maximally activated. METHODS: Ten participants without low back pain were tested. A matrix of six MTs was placed on the lower back, and strain data were captured under a series of conditions. The first condition was a baseline trial, in which participants lay prone and the muscles of the lower back were relaxed. The subsequent trials were maximum voluntary isometric contractions (MVICs), in which participants did not move, but resisted the examiner force in extension or rotational directions to maximally engage their lower back muscles. The mean MT strain was calculated for each condition. A repeated measures ANOVA was conducted to analyze the effects of conditions (baseline, extension, right rotation, and left rotation) and MT position (1-6) on the MT strain. Post hoc analyses were conducted for significant effects from the overall analysis. RESULTS: The results of the ANOVA revealed a significant main effect of condition (p < 0.001) and a significant interaction effect of sensor and condition (p = 0.01). There were significant differences in MT strain between the baseline condition and the extension and rotation MVIC conditions, respectively, for sensors 4, 5, and 6 (p = 0.01-0.04). The largest differences in MT strain were observed between baseline and rotation conditions for sensors 4, 5, and 6. CONCLUSIONS: MT can capture maximal lower back muscle engagement while the trunk remains in a stationary position. Lower sensors are better able to capture muscle engagement than upper sensors. Furthermore, MT captured muscle engagement during rotation conditions better than during extension.

Studying the spatial-social interface requires tools that distinguish between social and spatial drivers of interactions. Testing hypotheses about the factors determining animal interactions often involves comparing observed interactions with reference or null models. One approach to accounting for spatial drivers of social interactions in reference models is randomizing animal movement paths to decouple spatial and social phenotypes while maintaining environmental effects on movements. Here, we update a reference model that detects social attraction above the effect of spatial constraints. We explore the use of our wrap-around method and compare its performance to the previous approach using agent-based simulations. The wrap-around method provides reference models that are more similar to the original tracking data, while still distinguishing between social and spatial drivers. Furthermore, the wrap-around approach results in fewer false-positives than its predecessor, especially when animals do not return to one place each night but change movement foci, either locally or directionally. Finally, we show that interactions among GPS-tracked griffon vultures (Gyps fulvus) emerge from social attraction rather than from spatial constraints on their movements. We conclude by highlighting the biological situations in which the updated method might be most suitable for testing hypotheses about the underlying causes of social interactions. This article is part of the theme issue The spatial-social interface: a theoretical and empirical integration.

Plum curculio, Conotrachelus nenuphar (Herbst) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), is a key pest in Southeastern peach production by infesting fruit and decreasing yield. In Northeastern apples, plum curculio was found to have an edge effect, where more plum curculio are present next to a forested border than in the center of an orchard, and their propensity to fly or walk depended on air temperature. We conducted field studies over 3 seasons (2019-2021) to investigate whether plum curculio in small Southeastern peach plots exhibits the edge effect and to determine its primary mode of movement (flying or walking). Our results revealed that plum curculio did not exhibit the edge effect in Southeastern peaches. Thus, unlike Northeastern apples where plum curculio exhibits the edge effect, the reduced-input application program where insecticide sprays mainly target a few perimeter-row trees instead of the whole orchard for plum curculio management is not recommended for Southeastern peaches. Additionally, we observed that plum curculio in Southeastern peaches did not exhibit a primary mode of movement, and in most of the sampling weeks, the numbers of flying and walking plum curculio were not significantly correlated in the field. These results emphasize that using plum curculio sampling tools that only capture flying or walking plum curculio is not ideal for monitoring plum curculio activity in the Southeast. Overall, our findings indicate that plum curculio in Southeastern small peach plots and Northeastern apples does not exhibit the same behavior (i.e., edge effect and propensity to fly or walk).

Contemporary research has begun to show a strong relationship between movements and the perception of time. More specifically, concurrent movements serve to both bias and enhance time estimates. To explain these effects, we recently proposed a mechanism by which movements provide a secondary channel for estimating duration that is combined optimally with sensory estimates. However, a critical test of this framework is that by introducing noise into movements, sensory estimates of time should similarly become noisier. To accomplish this, we had human participants move a robotic arm while estimating intervals of time in either auditory or visual modalities (n = 24, ea.). Crucially, we introduced an artificial tremor in the arm while subjects were moving, that varied across three levels of amplitude (1-3 N) or frequency (4-12 Hz). The results of both experiments revealed that increasing the frequency of the tremor led to noisier estimates of duration. Further, the effect of noise varied with the base precision of the interval, such that a naturally less precise timing (i.e., visual) was more influenced by the tremor than a naturally more precise modality (i.e., auditory). To explain these findings, we fit the data with a recently developed drift-diffusion model of perceptual decision-making, in which the momentary, within-trial variance was allowed to vary across conditions. Here, we found that the model could recapitulate the observed findings, further supporting the theory that movements influence perception directly. Overall, our findings support the proposed framework, and demonstrate the utility of inducing motor noise via artificial tremors.

Wearable activity sensors typically count movement quantity, such as the number of steps taken or the number of upper extremity (UE) counts achieved. However, for some applications, such as neurologic rehabilitation, it may be of interest to quantify the quality of the movement experience (QOME), defined, for example, as how diverse or how complex movement epochs are. We previously found that individuals with UE impairment after stroke exhibited differences in their distributions of forearm postures across the day and that these differences could be quantified with kurtosis-an established statistical measure of the peakedness of distributions. In this paper, we describe further progress toward the goal of providing real-time feedback to try to help people learn to modulate their movement diversity. We first asked the following: to what extent do different movement activities induce different values of kurtosis? We recruited seven unimpaired individuals and evaluated a set of 12 therapeutic activities for their forearm postural diversity using kurtosis. We found that the different activities produced a wide range of kurtosis values, with conventional rehabilitation therapy exercises creating the most spread-out distribution and cup stacking the most peaked. Thus, asking people to attempt different activities can vary movement diversity, as measured with kurtosis. Next, since kurtosis is a computationally expensive calculation, we derived a novel recursive algorithm that enables the real-time calculation of kurtosis. We show that the algorithm reduces computation time by a factor of 200 compared to an optimized kurtosis calculation available in SciPy, across window sizes. Finally, we embedded the kurtosis algorithm on a commercial smartwatch and validated its accuracy using a robotic simulator that wore the smartwatch, emulating movement activities with known kurtosis. This work verifies that different movement tasks produce different values of kurtosis and provides a validated algorithm for the real-time calculation of kurtosis on a smartwatch. These are needed steps toward testing QOME-focused, wearable rehabilitation.

Little is known about the electrophysiologic activity of the intact human spinal cord during volitional movement. We analyzed epidural spinal recordings from a total of five human subjects of both sexes during a variety of upper extremity movements and found that these spinal epidural electrograms contain spectral information distinguishing periods of movement, rest, and sensation. Cervical epidural electrograms also contained spectral changes time-locked with movement. We found that these changes were primarily associated with increased power in the theta (4-8 Hz) band and feature increased theta phase to gamma amplitude coupling, and this increase in theta power can be used to topographically map distinct upper extremity movements onto the cervical spinal cord in accordance with established myotome maps of the upper extremity. Our findings have implications for the development of neurostimulation protocols and devices focused on motor rehabilitation for the upper extremity, and the approach presented here may facilitate spatiotemporal mapping of naturalistic movements.

Mouse tracking is an important source of data in cognitive science. Most contemporary mouse tracking studies use binary-choice tasks and analyze the curvature or velocity of an individual mouse movement during an experimental trial as participants select from one of the two options. However, there are many types of mouse tracking data available beyond what is produced in a binary-choice task, including naturalistic data from web users. In order to utilize these data, cognitive scientists need tools that are robust to the lack of trial-by-trial structure in most normal computer tasks. We use singular value decomposition (SVD) and detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA) to analyze whole time series of unstructured mouse movement data. We also introduce a new technique for describing two-dimensional mouse traces as complex-valued time series, which allows SVD and DFA to be applied in a straightforward way without losing important spatial information. We find that there is useful information at the level of whole time series, and we use this information to predict performance in an online task. We also discuss how the implications of these results can advance the use of mouse tracking research in cognitive science.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: Recently, criteria have been drawn up for large muscle group movements during sleep (LMM), defined as movements lasting for 3-45 seconds in adults, which are often accompanied by changes in sleep stage, arousals, and increases in heart rate. The aim of this study was to characterize LMM in restless legs syndrome (RLS) in order to better evaluate their impact on the neurophysiology of the disorder and, therefore, the possible clinical implications. METHODS: Consecutive, drug-free patients diagnosed with RLS and controls, aged 18 years or more, were retrospectively enrolled. Leg movement activity-short-interval (SILMS), periodic (PLMS), and isolated (ISOLMS) leg movements during sleep-and LMM were detected and scored. RESULTS: In total, 100 patients and 67 controls were recruited. All movement measures were significantly higher in RLS. A significant positive correlation was found between LMM and ISOLMS index but not PLMS index in both groups. LMM index showed a significant negative correlation with total sleep time, sleep efficiency, and percentage of sleep stages N3 and R, as well as a significant positive correlation with the number of awakenings, and percentage of sleep stages N1 and N2 only in patients with RLS. No significant correlation was found between either LMM or PLMS index and RLS severity. CONCLUSIONS: Different types of movements, including SILMS, ISOLMS, and LMM, play somewhat distinct roles in sleep neurophysiology in RLS. Notably, LMM, a newly recognized category of movements, demonstrates associations with sleep architecture instability and fragmentation, arousals, and awakenings, suggesting potential clinical implications.

This primer describes research on the development of motor behavior. We focus on infancy when basic action systems are acquired-posture, locomotion, manual actions, and facial actions-and we adopt a developmental systems perspective to understand the causes and consequences of developmental change. Experience facilitates improvements in motor behavior and infants accumulate immense amounts of varied everyday experience with all the basic action systems. At every point in development, perception guides behavior by providing feedback about the results of just prior movements and information about what to do next. Across development, new motor behaviors provide new inputs for perception. Thus, motor development opens up new opportunities for acquiring knowledge and acting on the world, instigating cascades of developmental changes in perceptual, cognitive, and social domains. This article is categorized under: Cognitive Biology > Cognitive Development Psychology > Motor Skill and Performance Neuroscience > Development.

Rationale: Oral appliances are second-line treatments after continuous positive airway pressure for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) management. However, the need for oral appliance titration limits their use as a result of monitoring challenges to assess the treatment effect on OSA. Objectives: To assess the validity of mandibular jaw movement (MJM) automated analysis compared with polysomnography (PSG) and polygraphy (PG) in evaluating the effect of oral appliance treatment and the effectiveness of MJM monitoring for oral appliance titration at home in patients with OSA. Methods: This observational, prospective study included 135 patients with OSA eligible for oral appliance therapy. The primary outcome was the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI), measured through in-laboratory PSG/PG and MJM-based technology. Additionally, MJM monitoring at home was conducted at regular intervals during the titration process. The agreement between PSG/PG and MJM automated analysis was revaluated using Bland-Altman analysis. Changes in AHI during the home-based oral appliance titration process were evaluated using a generalized linear mixed model and a generalized estimating equation model. Results: The automated MJM analysis demonstrated strong agreement with PG in assessing AHI at the end of titration, with a median bias of 0.24/h (limits of agreement, -11.2 to 12.8/h). The improvement of AHI from baseline in response to oral appliance treatment was consistent across three evaluation conditions: in-laboratory PG (-59.6%; 95% confidence interval, -59.8% to -59.5%), in-laboratory automated MJM analysis (-59.2%; -65.2% to -52.2%), and at-home automated MJM analysis (-59.7%; -67.4% to -50.2%). Conclusions: Incorporating MJM automated analysis into the oral appliance titration process has the potential to optimize oral appliance therapy outcomes for OSA.

BACKGROUND: Sedentary behavior (SB) is a recognized risk factor for many chronic diseases. ActiGraph and activPAL are two commonly used wearable accelerometers in SB research. The former measures body movement and the latter measures body posture. The goal of the current study is to quantify the pattern and variation of movement (by ActiGraph activity counts) during activPAL-identified sitting events, and examine associations between patterns and health-related outcomes, such as systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP and DBP). METHODS: The current study included 314 overweight postmenopausal women, who were instructed to wear an activPAL (at thigh) and ActiGraph (at waist) simultaneously for 24 hours a day for a week under free-living conditions. ActiGraph and activPAL data were processed to obtain minute-level time-series outputs. Multilevel functional principal component analysis (MFPCA) was applied to minute-level ActiGraph activity counts within activPAL-identified sitting bouts to investigate variation in movement while sitting across subjects and days. The multilevel approach accounted for the nesting of days within subjects. RESULTS: At least 90% of the overall variation of activity counts was explained by two subject-level principal components (PC) and six day-level PCs, hence dramatically reducing the dimensions from the original minute-level scale. The first subject-level PC captured patterns of fluctuation in movement during sitting, whereas the second subject-level PC delineated variation in movement during different lengths of sitting bouts: shorter (< 30 minutes), medium (30 -39 minutes) or longer (> 39 minute). The first subject-level PC scores showed positive association with DBP (standardized β ^ : 2.041, standard error: 0.607, adjusted p = 0.007), which implied that lower activity counts (during sitting) were associated with higher DBP. CONCLUSION: In this work we implemented MFPCA to identify variation in movement patterns during sitting bouts, and showed that these patterns were associated with cardiovascular health. Unlike existing methods, MFPCA does not require pre-specified cut-points to define activity intensity, and thus offers a novel powerful statistical tool to elucidate variation in SB patterns and health. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03473145; Registered 22 March 2018; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03473145 ; International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/28684.

Implicit adaptation has been regarded as a rigid process that automatically operates in response to movement errors to keep the sensorimotor system precisely calibrated. This hypothesis has been challenged by recent evidence suggesting flexibility in this learning process. One compelling line of evidence comes from work suggesting that this form of learning is context-dependent, with the rate of learning modulated by error history. Specifically, learning was attenuated in the presence of perturbations exhibiting high variance compared to when the perturbation is fixed. However, these findings are confounded by the fact that the adaptation system corrects for errors of different magnitudes in a non-linear manner, with the adaptive response increasing in a proportional manner to small errors and saturating to large errors. Through simulations, we show that this non-linear motor correction function is sufficient to explain the effect of perturbation variance without referring to an experience-dependent change in error sensitivity. Moreover, by controlling the distribution of errors experienced during training, we provide empirical evidence showing that there is no measurable effect of perturbation variance on implicit adaptation. As such, we argue that the evidence to date remains consistent with the rigidity assumption.

Background: Early childhood obesity prevention interventions that aim to change parent/caregiver practices related to infant (milk) feeding, food provision and parent feeding, movement (including activity, sedentary behaviour) and/or sleep health (i.e. target parental behaviour domains) are diverse and heterogeneously reported. We aimed to 1) systematically characterise the target behaviours, delivery features, and Behaviour Change Techniques (BCTs) used in interventions in the international Transforming Obesity Prevention for CHILDren (TOPCHILD) Collaboration, and 2) explore similarities and differences in BCTs used in interventions by target behaviour domains. Methods: Annual systematic searches were performed in MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane (CENTRAL), CINAHL, PsycINFO, and two clinical trial registries, from inception to February 2023. Trialists from eligible randomised controlled trials of parent-focused, behavioural early obesity prevention interventions shared unpublished intervention materials. Standardised approaches were used to code target behaviours, delivery features and BCTs in both published and unpublished intervention materials. Validation meetings confirmed coding with trialists. Narrative syntheses were performed. Results: Thirty-two trials reporting 37 active intervention arms were included. Interventions targeted a range of behaviours. The most frequent combination was targeting all parental behaviour domains (infant [milk] feeding, food provision and parent feeding, movement, sleep health; n[intervention arms] = 15/37). Delivery features varied considerably. Most interventions were delivered by a health professional (n = 26/36), included facilitator training (n = 31/36), and were interactive (n = 28/36). Overall, 49 of 93 unique BCTs were coded to at least one target behaviour domain. The most frequently coded BCTs were: Instruction on how to perform a behaviour (n[intervention arms, separated by domain] = 102), Behavioural practice and rehearsal (n = 85), Information about health consequences (n = 85), Social support (unspecified) (n = 84), and Credible source (n = 77). Similar BCTs were often used for each target behaviour domain. Conclusions: Our study provides the most comprehensive description of the behaviour change content of complex interventions targeting early childhood obesity prevention available to date. Our analysis revealed that interventions targeted multiple behaviour domains, with significant variation in delivery features. Despite the diverse range of BCTs coded, five BCTs were consistently identified across domains, though certain BCTs were more prevalent in specific domains. These findings can be used to examine effectiveness of components and inform intervention development and evaluation in future trials. Trial registration: PROSPERO registration no. CRD42020177408. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between linear and change-of-direction sprinting performance with dribbling performance and Dribble Deficit in professional female handball players. Methods: Eleven professional female handball players (mean age: 21.12 ± 4.34 years; body height: 171.59 ± 4.52 cm; body weight: 66.29 ± 5.73 kg) participated in the study. Each participant completed several linear (sprint over 10, 20, and 30 m) and change-of-direction tests (slalom test, zig-zag test, 505 test), first without the ball (sprinting performance) followed by ball dribbling (dribbling performance). Dribble Deficit was calculated indirectly as the time difference between the best trial while dribbling minus the best trial without dribbling. Results: A large to very large correlation was observed between the linear sprint and dribbling performance (r = 0.53–0.78), as well as between change-of-direction sprinting performance and dribbling performance (r = 0.66–0.88). The study also showed a moderate to perfect relationship between linear dribbling performance and Dribble Deficit (r = 0.46–0.93), and a large relationship between change-of-direction dribbling performance and Dribble Deficit (r = 0.54–0.55), while the relationships between linear sprinting performance and Dribble Deficit (r = −0.51–0.21) and between change-of-direction sprinting performance and Dribble Deficit (r = −0.14–0.26) were small and non-significant. Conclusion: In summary, Dribble Deficit reflects dribbling ability independent of sprinting ability and refines its application for practical use in assessing dribbling skills in female handball players. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Globally, temperate lakes are experiencing increases in surface water temperatures, extended periods of summer stratification, and decreases of both surface and deep water dissolved oxygen (DO). The distribution of fish is influenced by a variety of factors, but water temperature and dissolved oxygen are known to be particularly constraining such that with climate change, fish will likely feel the "squeeze" from above and below. Methods: This study used acoustic telemetry to explore the effects of both thermal stratification and the deoxygenation of the hypolimnion on walleye (Sander vitreus) movements in a coastal embayment in Lake Ontario. Using historical water quality monitoring data, we documented seasonal and annual fluctuations in availability of both 'suitable' (all temperatures, DO > 3 mg/L) and 'optimum' (temperatures 18–23 °C, DO > 5mg/L) abiotic habitat for walleye and determined how these changes influenced walleye movements over a three-year period. Results: Hypoxia (< 3 mg/L DO) was present in Hamilton Harbour every summer that data were available (32 of the 42 years between 1976 and 2018), with a maximum of 68.4% of the harbour volume in 1990. We found that thermal stratification and a hypoxic hypolimnion greatly reduced the volume of suitable habitat during our telemetry study. The reduction of suitable habitat significantly reduced walleye movement distances, however as the summer progressed, this remaining suitable habitat warmed into their thermal optimum range which was found to increase walleye movement distances. Despite the seemingly poor conditions, tagged walleye remained in the harbour for most of the year, and were the fastest growing individuals compared to other sampled coastal subpopulations in Lake Ontario. Conclusions: Although we documented a reduction in the quantity of non-hypoxic habitat available to walleye, the water temperature of the remaining habitat increased throughout the summer into the physiologically optimum range for walleye and increased in metabolic quality. Many abiotic factors influence how, where, and what habitat fish choose to use, and this study reveals the importance of considering both habitat quality (temperature and dissolved oxygen) and quantity when evaluating fish habitat use and behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shifts in global climate patterns can alter animal behavior, including movement and space use. The southwestern United States of America is currently undergoing a period of megadrought, which can have profound consequences on small ectothermic organisms like box turtles. We radiotracked eight adult ornate box turtles (Terrapene ornata) in eastern New Mexico from September 2019 to July 2022, when the environmental conditions transitioned from a dry season with low cumulative precipitation in 2020 to high cumulative precipitation in 2021, followed by a regression to exceptional drought conditions that culminated with a high-intensity wildfire in early 2022. Turtles exhibited greater mean daily movement and were more active in 2021 in comparison to 2020 and 2022. Turtles were least active in 2022, while mean daily movement was comparative to 2020. All turtles in our study exhibited homing behavior after the wildfire, but individual responses varied. While some turtles initially moved out of the burned area and returned within a month, others remained inactive within a small portion of the burned area. The greatest movement was documented in one female turtle following the wildfire, whose home range expanded to seven times the average maximum annual home range size observed among other turtles. Overall, this is the first documentation of T. ornata response to highly altered habitat after high-severity wildfire. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In vertebrates, skeletal muscle comprises fast and slow fibers. Slow and fast muscle cells in fish are spatially segregated; slow muscle cells are located only in a superficial region, and comprise a small fraction of the total muscle cell mass. Slow muscles support low-speed, low-force movements, while fast muscles are responsible for high-speed, high-force movements. However, speed and strength of movement are not binary states, but rather fall on a continuum. This raises the question of whether any recruitment patterns exist within fast muscles, which constitute the majority of muscle cell mass. In the present study, we investigated activation patterns of trunk fast muscles during movements of varying speeds and strengths using larval zebrafish. We employed two complementary methods: calcium imaging and electrophysiology. The results obtained from both methods supported the conclusion that there are spatially-ordered recruitment patterns in fast muscle cells. During weaker/slower movements, only the lateral portion of fast muscle cells is recruited. As the speed or strength of the movements increases, more fast muscle cells are recruited in a spatially-ordered manner, progressively from lateral to medial. We also conducted anatomical studies to examine muscle fiber size. The results of those experiments indicated that muscle fiber size increases systematically from lateral to medial. Therefore, the spatially ordered recruitment of fast muscle fibers, progressing from lateral to medial, correlates with an increase in fiber size. These findings provide significant insights into the organization and function of fast muscles in larval zebrafish, illustrating how spatial recruitment and fiber size interact to optimize movement performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Objectives: The main objective of this manuscript is to evaluate the effects of training, music, and movement intervention on motor functions, social engagement, and behaviors in autistic children. Methods: Twenty-one children with a diagnosis of mild autism spectrum disorder (ASD), with an age range of 5-to-13 years, were divided into two groups: the experimental group (n = 10) and the control group (n = 11). All participants were examined before (T0) and after the intervention (T1) to evaluate their motor functions (Bruininks–Oseretsky Motor Performance Test (BOT-2)), maladaptive behavior (RCS (Response to Challenge Scale)), and enjoyment and engagement (PACES (Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale)). Results: Statistical analysis showed that music and movement intervention significantly improved motor functions such as balance and bilateral coordination (p < 0.0001), social engagement (p = 0.002), and adaptive behaviors (p = 0.005) in children with ASD. Our research supports the feasibility of music and movement intervention and documents the interest in participating in children with ASD. Conclusions: This study demonstrates the benefits of movement and music interventions and can be considered a useful way to manage autism spectrum disorders in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study employs a rigorous Systematic Literature Review (SLR) methodology to examine the role of women's leadership in advancing social movements for gender equality. Utilizing Scopus-indexed articles, we provide a comprehensive review of the relevant literature, analyzing factors contributing to the success of women leaders, effective leadership strategies, and the impacts of these efforts on communities and structural change. The findings indicate that women's leadership plays a crucial role in fostering sustainable social change by enhancing women's participation in decision-making, increasing public awareness of gender issues, and advocating for policies that promote gender equity. Additionally, this review identifies key challenges faced by women leaders in social movements, including gender stereotypes, institutional barriers, and inequities in resource access. In conclusion, strengthening women's leadership in social movements is essential for advancing gender equality, though significant systemic obstacles must still be addressed to fully realize the transformative potential of such leadership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The main key to the 4th industrial era is robots, and wearable robots are incorporated into human healthcare. Samsung Electronics' Bot Fit is a hip joint-centered assistive robot that can induce walking posture and energetic walking exercises. Methods: This study is a cross-section study. Fifty-eight subjects consisting of older and younger adults participated. The straight walking test was conducted under the conditions of bare body, wearing the wearable robot Bot Fit assist mode, and applying voice coach. Spatio-temporal gait parameters were analyzed and the statistical significance level was set at 0.05. Results: When assist mode and voice coach were applied, pelvic movement in 3 axes, stride length, and walking speed compared to the bare body increased. In young adults, stride length difference decreased in assist mode 1 and voice coach 1 compared to the bare body. Conclusion: Bot Fit's assist mode and voice coach method positively influence walking efficiency, posture, stride length, and speed, though potential interaction effects between these interventions should be considered. Personalized, real-time adjustments show promise for optimizing walking exercises, warranting further investigation into their long-term and population-specific effects. Trial registration: Clinical Research Information Service, KCT0007974. Registered 12/07/2022. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most large carnivores feed on prey infrequently and may expend large amounts of energy to locate, capture and kill their prey. This makes them probabilistically vulnerable to fluctuating rates of energy acquisition over time, especially within the increasingly human-altered landscapes that dominate their remaining range. Consequently, quantifying their hunting behaviors and success rates is critical, yet direct observation of these events is rarely feasible. We theorized that we could determine prey pursuit and capture in African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) using a mechanistic approach by constructing Boolean algorithms applied to accelerometer data derived from collar-mounted tags. Here, we used this method and then iteratively improved algorithms by testing them on observed hunts and kills of collared packs. Using this approach on 47 days of acceleration from three wild dogs in three packs, we identified 29 hunts with 10 kills, all of which were confirmed by direct observation except for a single kill. Our results demonstrate that hunting effort and success can largely be determined from acceleration data using a mechanistic approach. This is particularly valuable when such behaviors are rarely quantified and offers a template for research on foraging in canid species, while also contributing to the expanding body of literature that employs similar methods to quantify hunting in large carnivores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cancer among young adults (18-39 years) is relatively rare, but remains a leading cause of disability, morbidity, and mortality. Identifying strategies to support young adults' health following a diagnosis of cancer is important. Yoga may enhance health and could be delivered by videoconference. However, little research exploring yoga, and no research exploring videoconference delivery of yoga has been conducted with this cohort. We worked with young adults affected by cancer and developed, piloted, and refined a yoga intervention delivered by videoconference. Objective: To evaluate our yoga intervention in a full-scale, mixed methods, single-arm, hybrid effectiveness-implementation trial. Methods: Young adults 18 years or older, diagnosed with cancer between the ages of 18-39 years of age, and at any stage along the cancer trajectory are eligible. Participants receive 2 yoga classes/week over 12-weeks by videoconference and complete assessments at baseline, post-intervention, and 6- and 12-month follow-ups. Assessments include self-reported questionnaires (ie, stress, yoga barriers, physical activity behaviour, fatigue, cognition, cancer-related symptoms, general health, health-related quality of life, self-compassion, mindfulness, group identification), physical assessments (ie, aerobic endurance, flexibility, range of motion, balance, functional mobility), and a semi-structured interview (post-intervention only; exploring perceptions of acceptability, feasibility, and experiences). Quality improvement cycles occur every 6 months. Repeated measures analysis of variance will be conducted to explore effectiveness, descriptive statistics and responder/non-responder analyses will be used to explore implementation, and qualitative interview data, analyzed using content analysis and reflexive thematic analysis, will bolster effectiveness and implementation findings. Discussion: As the first full-scale trial to evaluate yoga delivered by videoconference for this cohort, findings will make substantial contributions to young adults' supportive cancer care. Conclusion: This protocol, reporting on yoga delivered by videoconference for young adults diagnosed with cancer, will enhance transparency and reproducibility and provide a reference for forthcoming trial results. Trial registration: NCT05314803 at clinicaltrials.gov. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Unusual or unexpected effect of treatment Background: Due to the complexity of the golf swing, poor form affects performance and lead to injuries in the spine and extremities. The Titleist Performance Institute (TPI) has created a movement screen to identify a golfer's physical limitations. The TPI includes 16 movement patterns within a golfer's swing that could lead to poor performance, dysfunction, and pain. TPI recommends specific exercises to address any dysfunctions. Case Report: This case report examined the benefit of a TDI-specific exercise program for a 78-year-old man with a history of low back pain and decreasing golf performance. Treatments included 3 sessions over 10 weeks, including lumbar stabilization exercises, balance training, and manual therapy. The dependent variables were the TDI movement screen, Trackman Driver analysis, and 3D Kvest Swing analysis. The patient's main goal was to increase driving distance and be able to play a round of golf without pain. The patient's specific functional scale showed that trunk rotation, right shoulder mobility, and hamstring length improved. His TPI Fitness handicap decreased, and his Trackman Driver averages improved. Conclusions: This case report demonstrates that the TDI movement screen and TDI-recommended exercises in combination with manual therapy improved a golfer's TPI composite score, overall performance, and kinematic sequencing. Although, based on a case report, cause and effect cannot be established, it does appear that interventions, in this case, contributed to a decrease in low back pain and self-reported disability, improved golf swing and performance, and met the patient's objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Energetic aspects of neuronal activity have become a major focus of interest given the fact that the brain among all organs dominates the oxygen consumption. At variance with the importance of neuroenergetics, the knowledge about how electrical activity and metabolism is correlated in defined neuronal populations is still rather scarce. Results: We have estimated the ATP consumption in the two physiologically well characterized populations of frog central vestibular neurons, with tonic and phasic firing patterns, respectively. These two distinct groups of neurons jointly process head/body movements detected by semicircular canal and otolith organs in the inner ear. The ATP consumption for maintenance of the resting membrane potential (Vr) and postsynaptic action potential (AP) generation was calculated based on the wealth of previously reported morpho-physiological features of these two neuronal types. Accordingly, tonic vestibular neurons require less ATP across the physiological activity range for these major processes, than phasic vestibular neurons, despite the considerably higher firing rates of the former subtype. However, since both neuronal subtypes are indispensable for the encoding and processing of the entire head/body motion dynamics, the higher energy demand of phasic neurons represents an obvious and necessary price to pay. Although phasic and tonic neurons form the respective core elements of the frequency-tuned vestibular pathways, both cellular components are cross-linked through feedforward and feedback side loops. The prominent influence of inhibitory tonic neurons in shaping the highly transient firing pattern of phasic neurons is cost-intensive and contributes to energy consumption for electrical activity in addition to the already extensive energy costs of signal processing by the very leaky phasic vestibular neurons. Conclusion: Despite the sparse production of action potentials by phasic vestibular neurons, the computation by this neuronal type dominates the ATP expense for processing head/body movements, which might have contributed to the late evolutionary arrival of this central neuronal element, dedicated to the encoding of highly dynamic motion profiles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geopolitical boundaries can present challenges to wildlife conservation because of varying environmental regulations, and increasingly, the existence of border barriers. As of 2024, approximately 1,023 km of border walls (i.e., steel bollard walls 5.5-9.1 m tall with interstitial spaces ≤10 cm) and 169 km of vehicle barriers (i.e., variable steel structures designed to stop vehicles but not pedestrians) exist along the USA-Mexico border. Some small wildlife passages (21.5 x 27.8 cm) were installed in border walls but few other accommodations for wildlife connectivity exist. As such, ecological consequences of border barriers may be severe and documenting the ability of wildlife to traverse these barriers will be essential to conservation efforts. We placed 36 wildlife cameras across 163.5 km of the USA-Mexico border in Arizona, USA and Sonora, MX to evaluate crossing rates through border barriers for 20 terrestrial species. We observed 9,240 wildlife events, including 1,920 successful crossing events. All focal species crossed through vehicle barriers, whereas white-tailed deer, mule deer, American black bear, American badger, wild turkey, and mountain lion appeared unable to cross through interstitial spaces in border walls. Small wildlife passages improved crossing rates for several species, including American badger, collared peccary, coyote, and mountain lion. Yet, small wildlife passages were scarce with only 13 along >130 km of continuous border wall and failed to allow American black bear, deer, and wild turkey to cross. Additional research on the impacts of border barriers and potential mitigation strategies will be critical for effective transboundary conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Sarcopenia is a muscle-wasting condition that affects older individuals. It can lead to changes in movement patterns, which can increase the risk of falls and other injuries. Methods: Older women participants aged ≥65 years who could walk independently were recruited and classified into two groups based on knee extension strength (KES). Participants with low KES scores were assigned to the possible sarcopenia group (PSG; n=7) and an 8-week exercise intervention was implemented. Healthy seniors with high KES scores were classified as the reference group (RG; n=4), and a 3-week exercise intervention was conducted. Kinematic movement data were recorded during the intervention period. All participants' exercise repetitions were used in the data analysis (number of data points=1,128). Results: The PSG showed significantly larger movement patterns in knee rotation during wide squats compared to the RG, attributed to weakened lower limb strength. The voting classifier, trained on the movement patterns from wide squats, determined that significant differences in overall movement patterns between the two groups persisted until the end of the exercise intervention. However, after the exercise intervention, significant improvements in lower limb strength in the PSG resulted in reduced knee rotation range of motion and max, thereby stabilizing movements and eliminating significant differences with the RG. Conclusion: This study suggests that exercise interventions can modify the movement patterns in older individuals with possible sarcopenia. These findings provide fundamental data for developing an exercise management system that remotely tracks and monitors the movement patterns of older adults during exercise activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In the last few years, transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) has attracted attention as a promising approach to interact with ongoing oscillatory cortical activity and, consequently, to enhance cognitive and motor processes. While tACS findings are limited by high variability in young adults' responses, its effects on brain oscillations in older adults remain largely unexplored. In fact, the modulatory effects of tACS on cortical oscillations in healthy aging participants have not yet been investigated extensively, particularly during movement. This study aimed to examine the after-effects of 20 Hz and 70 Hz High-Definition tACS on beta oscillations both during rest and movement. Methods: We recorded resting state EEG signals and during a handgrip task in 15 healthy older participants. We applied 10 min of 20 Hz HD-tACS, 70 Hz HD-tACS or Sham stimulation for 10 min. We extracted resting-state beta power and movement-related beta desynchronization (MRBD) values to compare between stimulation frequencies and across time. Results: We found that 20 Hz HD-tACS induced a significant reduction in beta power for electrodes C3 and CP3, while 70 Hz did not have any significant effects. With regards to MRBD, 20 Hz HD-tACS led to more negative values, while 70 Hz HD-tACS resulted in more positive ones for electrodes C3 and FC3. Conclusions: These findings suggest that HD-tACS can modulate beta brain oscillations with frequency specificity. They also highlight the focal impact of HD-tACS, which elicits effects on the cortical region situated directly beneath the stimulation electrode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Many daily activities depend on visual inputs to improve motor accuracy and minimize errors. Reaching tasks present an ecological framework for examining these visuomotor interactions, but our comprehension of how different amounts of visual input affect motor outputs is still limited. The present study fills this gap, exploring how hand-related visual bias affects motor performance in a reaching task (to draw a line between two dots). Methods: Our setup allowed us to show and hide the visual feedback related to the hand position (cursor of a computer mouse), which was further disentangled from the visual input related to the task (tip of the line). Results: Data from 53 neurotypical participants indicated that, when the hand-related visual cue was visible and disentangled from the task-related visual cue, accommodating movements in response to spatial distortions were less accurate than when the visual cue was absent. Conclusions: We interpret these findings with reference to the concepts of motor affordance of visual cues, shifts between internally- and externally-oriented cognitive strategies to perform movements, and body-related reference frames. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dispersal can affect individual‐level fitness and population‐level ecological and evolutionary processes. Factors that affect dispersal could therefore have important eco‐evolutionary implications. Here, we investigated the extent to which an inflammation and tissue repair response—peritoneal fibrosis—which is known to restrict movement, could influence dispersal by conducting a mark‐recapture experiment in a lake in Alaska with threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculatus). A subset of captured stickleback were injected with aluminium phosphate to experimentally induce fibrosis ('treatment group'), and another subset were injected with saline or received no injection—both of which do not induce fibrosis ('control group'). We released all fish at one introduction point and re‐sampled stickleback throughout the lake for 8 days. We recaptured 123 individuals (n = 47 fibrosis treatment; n = 76 control) and dissected them to determine fibrosis levels. Overall, fibrosis did not affect dispersal. Some compelling (but not statistically significant) trends suggest that early‐stage inflammation may affect dispersal, providing opportunities for future work. By showing that effects on dispersal are not important side effects of fibrosis, these findings improve our understanding of the ecological implications of immune responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Males in polygynous systems may be facing a trade‐off between the traits that enhance reproductive success and the need to cope with environmental change. To secure mates, males invest into large bodies, lavish ornaments and costly activities, but these investments may be incompatible with future environments. As climatic change intensifies, thermal stressors could be disrupting the energy‐intensive pathways that historically have yielded mating opportunity.We evaluated how traits associated with social dominance interacted with environmental conditions to shape mating behaviour and opportunity in moose (Alces alces), a heat‐sensitive species in which southern populations live at the edge of their thermal tolerance. We anticipated that males with favourable characteristics (e.g. age, weaponry) would allocate more to reproduction, resulting in increased mating opportunity. We expected that warm temperatures would limit reproductive effort, especially as age and weapon size increased.We quantified mating tactics, effort, and opportunity for male moose ranging in age from 1.5 to 11.5 years. We used hidden Markov models to detect mating tactics, accelerometer data to quantify movement effort, and proximity to females as a proxy for mating opportunity. We modelled these mating dynamics as a function of age, weapon size, and ambient temperature.Warm temperatures exaggerated age‐related differences in time and effort allocated to reproductive movement. Heat disproportionately limited reproductive effort in old males, the ages that also had the greatest mating opportunity. Even though warm temperatures altered mating behaviour, they did not reduce mating opportunity. Across temperatures, mating opportunity was highest in prime‐age and old males, yet time and effort devoted to reproductive movement decreased with age.Climate change, which is increasing autumn temperatures, may increase variation in reproductive effort across ages and depress the movement of old males, who are typically the primary breeders. The discrepancy between behaviour and opportunity suggests that movement is not a reliable pathway to reproduction and emphasizes the advantages of energy‐saving strategies, especially as environments become more taxing for heat‐sensitive species. We reveal the limitations of movement effort in polygynous mating strategies and the susceptibility of this critical life history stage to environmental change. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Pose estimation (PE) has the promise to measure pediatric movement from a video recording. The purpose of this study was to quantify the accuracy of a PE model to detect arm and leg movements in 3-month-old infants with and without (TD, for typical development) complex congenital heart disease (CCHD). Methods: Data from 12 3-month-old infants (N = 6 TD and N = 6 CCHD) were used to assess MediaPipe's full-body model. Positive predictive value (PPV) and sensitivity assessed the model's accuracy with behavioral coding. Results: Overall, 499 leg and arm movements were identified, and the model had a PPV of 85% and a sensitivity of 94%. The model's PPV in TD was 84% and the sensitivity was 93%. The model's PPV in CCHD was 87% and the sensitivity was 98%. Movements per hour ranged from 399 to 4211 for legs and 236 to 3767 for arms for all participants, similar ranges to the literature on wearables. No group differences were detected. Conclusions: There is a strong promise for PE and models to describe infant movements with accessible and affordable resources—like a cell phone and curated video repositories. These models can be used to further improve developmental assessments of limb function, movement, and changes over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human−wildlife conflict is a global conservation issue, necessitating effective mitigation strategies. Hunting is a common management approach to reduce conflict, but the indirect consequences are often overlooked. Chronic hunting‐related disturbance can reduce fitness and redistribute species. In recent decades, goose−agricultural conflict has intensified due to increasing abundance and shifts towards agricultural foraging. On Islay, Scotland, escalating conflict culminated in shooting Greenland barnacle geese Branta leucopsis to reduce damage to agricultural grassland. In this study, we contrast the impact of shooting disturbance on the movement, behavior, energy expenditure and habitat selection of the target species (Greenland barnacle goose) and a vulnerable nontarget species (Greenland white‐fronted goose, Anser albifrons flavirostris) using biologging devices (target species: n = 33; nontarget species: n = 94). Both species were displaced by shooting, and greater distances were subsequently traveled by the target species (1.71 km when directly targeted). When disturbed at any distance, total daily movement increased significantly by 1.18 km for the target species but not for the nontarget species. The target species exhibited no accompanying change in diurnal energy expenditure (measured via accelerometery) but foraged in improved grasslands further from roads after shooting disturbance, where disturbance from all sources was likely lower. The significant increases in movement and changes in foraging site selection of the target species could reduce fitness but given the infrequency of shooting disturbances (0.09 per day) there is likely capacity for compensatory feeding to recoup energetic losses. The nontarget species expectedly showed no significant change in energy expenditure, behavior or habitat selection following shooting disturbance, suggesting mitigation strategies have been effective at minimizing fitness impacts. Refuge areas with a 3.5 km diameter (three times the maximum distance from shooting that displacement was detectable) could provide undisturbed foraging for the target species, minimizing compensatory feeding and further agricultural damage. Wildlife managers should, where possible, consider the fitness implications of shooting disturbance, and whether compensatory feeding and redistribution could hamper conflict mitigation. Management strategies should also include species‐specific monitoring and mitigation as we have demonstrated differing responses potentially due to imposed mitigation but also differing species ecology and "landscapes of fear." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study emphasizes the importance of a teacher's adaptability in conveying knowledge and the varied interpretations of exercises among educators. While there is an evident difference in how physical education (PE) is approached, the common thread is the motivation and involvement of students. Promoting physical activity and forming associated habits at school has a major impact on a person's entire life. Students should learn these skills through PE classes led by physically literate teachers. The aim of this study was to determine PE teachers' physical literacy (PL), their understanding of the concept of PL, and the application of its components in PE classes. In the first phase of the research questionnaire survey of 81 PE teachers, the aim was to determine their physical literacy. In the second phase, observations were conducted to assess which components of PL teachers use during PE classes. In the third phase, a group interview was conducted to determine the opinions of PE teachers on the components of PL and its application. Teachers with a normal BMI and teaching higher grade students (p < 0.05) had significantly higher PL scores than those with a BMI that was too high (p < 0.05). Additionally, correlation analysis (r = −0.247, p < 0.05) showed that as BMI decreased, the PL score increased. Only two aspects of PL are developed during PE classes—competence and motivation. Very little or no elements of knowledge and understanding of physical activities and associated health benefits, and ways to reduce sedentary time and promote daily habits were observed. PE teachers' interviews revealed that they recognized PL as a holistic concept for the development of a person's physical abilities and knowledge. PE specialists also suggested teaching methods that could be applied outside of classes and acknowledged shared problems that reduce students' motivation to move and how to address them. This study highlights the complexity of the concept of PL and reveals many areas for future research: searching for a universal assessment of PL and focusing on the concept of promoting new, creative, less linear ways of assessing and teaching PL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Yoga may reduce negative cancer- and treatment-related effects and help improve a range of outcomes, including flexibility, mindfulness, and quality of life among adults affected by cancer. Yet there is little evidence for the role of yoga among young adults (18-39 years) affected by cancer. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of young adults affected by cancer in an 8-week yoga intervention delivered by videoconference. Methods: Young adults who were diagnosed with cancer between the ages of 18 and 39 years, at any stage of the cancer trajectory, who were living in Canada, and who completed an 8-week yoga intervention were approached to complete a semi-structured interview. A social constructivist paradigm was adopted. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. Results: Twenty-eight young adults (Mean age = 34.67±5.11 years; n=25 female) with varied cancer diagnoses participated. Participants' perspectives were represented across 6 themes: (1) I was juggling a number of challenges and changes throughout the yoga intervention; (2) I noticed some improvements in my mental and physical health; (3) I made time to discover new strategies to take care of myself; (4) I was able to see what my body is capable of; (5) I was held accountable and I appreciated that, and; (6) I was able to be around similar others in a safe (virtual) space. Conclusions: Findings suggest that an 8-week yoga intervention may offer some benefits for young adults affected by cancer. Self-care, self-compassion, mindfulness, feelings of physical competence, establishing a routine, and being around similar others were viewed as important components of the intervention and may have contributed to the benefits experienced. Findings underscore the potential utility of yoga as a supportive care intervention for young adults affected by cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Objectives: The aim of this research was to determine the differences in physical fitness according to the level of physical activity (PA) during physical education classes in 10-year-old school children. Methods: The research included 315 primary school children (age 10 ± 1.3 years), divided into three groups by level of PA: low, moderate and high. A Eurofit test battery was used to evaluate the physical fitness of children. Physical activity (volume (number of steps) and intensity) was measured using a Coach Gear pedometer and a Suunto Memory Belt heart rate monitor. Results: Presented results indicate that there are significant differences between groups of children of both genders in relation to the level of PA. Group of boys with low PA showed lower values in sit and reach (p = 0.01), standing long jump (p = 0.02), bent arm hang (p = 0.04) and polygon backwards (p = 0.01) compared to the remaining two groups. Girls with low physical activity showed significant differences in sit and reach (p = 0.01) and bent arm hang (p = 0.01) compared to the other two groups, while in hand tapping, the high PA group showed better results compared to the other two groups (p = 0.03). Conclusions: The results reported in this research support the significant effects of PA level on physical fitness in school children. Less active children generally showed poorer physical fitness in both genders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the association between in vivo skeletal mitochondrial function and digital free-living physical activity patterns—a measure that summarizes biological, phenotypic, functional, and environmental effects on mobility. Among 459 participants (mean age 68 years; 55% women) in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging, mitochondrial function was quantified as skeletal muscle oxidative capacity via post-exercise phosphocreatine recovery rate (τPCr) in the vastus lateralis muscle of the left thigh, using 31P magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Accelerometry was collected using a 7-day, 24-h wrist-worn protocol and summarized into activity amount, intensity, endurance, and accumulation patterning metrics. Linear regression, two-part linear and logistic (bout analyses), and linear mixed effects models (time-of-day analyses) were used to estimate associations between τPCr and each physical activity metric. Interactions by age, sex, and gait speed were tested. After covariate adjustment, higher τPCr (or poorer mitochondrial function) was associated with lower activity counts/day (β = − 6593.7, SE = 2406.0; p = 0.006) and activity intensity (− 81.5 counts, SE = 12.9; p < 0.001). For activity intensity, the magnitude of association was greater for men and those with slower gait speed (interaction p < 0.02 for both). Conversely, τPCr was not associated with daily active minutes/day (p = 0.15), activity fragmentation (p = 0.13), or endurance at any bout length (p > 0.05 for all). Time-of-day analyses show participants with high τPCr were less active from 6:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m. than those with low τPCr. Results indicate that poorer skeletal mitochondrial function is primarily associated with lower engagement in high intensity activities. Our findings help define the connection between laboratory-measured mitochondrial function and real-world physical activity behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]