Physical Body Research Articles

Membidik Pertautan Teologis antara Tubuh dan Ibadah Menurut Roma 12:1

The orientation of the body to worship God through worship is an important principle in Christianity because it is for this purpose that humans were created by God. However, the problem that is immediately faced is the emergence of various discourses about the body which tend not to open up space for connectivity between the body and worship as a meaningful relationship for human existence as religious beings. The problem is that the body is often seen as a material object that is mortal and does not contain any special qualities in the practice of worship. Even if the body is useful, it is only a means that is limited in time and space. The aim of this research is to question this perspective based on the text Romans 12:1 and target the theological connection between the body and worship in their respective specialties. This research uses a library research method by investigating through literature selected according to the objectives of this research and supported by hermeneutics as a method of interpreting biblical texts. The results of this research show that the theological link between the body and worship is visible through the destination of the body and the continuity of worship which is eternal or eternal. This is what allows the offering of the body to become a manifestation of true worship to God.

Targeting Aging and Longevity with Exogenous Nucleotides (TALENTs): Rationale, Design, and Baseline Characteristics from a Randomized Controlled Trial in Older Adults.

Nucleotides (NTs), important biomolecules involved in numerous cellular processes, have been proposed as potential candidates for anti-aging interventions. However, whether nucleotides can act as an anti-aging supplement in older adults remains unclear. TALENTs is a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial that evaluates the efficacy and safety of NTs as an anti-aging supplement in older adults by exploring the effects of NTs on multiple dimensions of aging in a rigorous scientific setting. Eligible community-dwelling adults aged 60-70 years were randomly assigned equally to two groups: nucleotides intervention group and placebo control group. Comprehensive geriatric health assessments were performed at baseline, 2-months, and 4-months of the intervention. Biological specimens were collected and stored for age-related biomarker testing and multi-omics sequencing. The primary outcome was the change from baseline to 4 months on leukocyte telomere length and DNA methylation age. The secondary aims were the changes in possible mechanisms underlying aging processes (immunity, inflammatory profile, oxidative stress, gene stability, endocrine, metabolism, and cardiovascular function). Other outcomes were changes in physical function, body composition and geriatric health assessment (including sleep quality, cognitive function, fatigue, frailty, and psychology). In the RCT, 301 participants were assessed for eligibility and 122 were enrolled. Participants averaged 65.65 years of age, and were predominately female (67.21%). All baseline characteristics were well-balanced between groups, as expected due to randomization. The majority of participants were pre-frailty and had at least one chronic condition. The mean scores for physical activity, psychological, fatigue and quality of life were within the normal range. However, nearly half of the participants still had room for improvement in cognitive level and sleep quality. This TALENTs trial will represent one of the most comprehensive experimental clinical trials in which supplements are administered to elderly participants. The findings of this study will contribute to our understanding of the anti-aging effects of NTs and provide insights into their potential applications in geriatric healthcare.

Unveiling the mediating role of self-esteem in the relationship between physical activity and BMI: A structural equation modeling study in adolescents

The purpose of this study was to examine the mediating effect of self-esteem on the relationship between physical activity and Body Mass Index (BMI) in adolescents. Two hundred and sixty-nine adolescents completed the Self-Esteem Scale, the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), and BMI measurements. The Zhengzhou Education Authority facilitated data collection. We used Partial Least Squares (PLS) software for data analysis to evaluate the mediating effect of self-esteem. The results found that physical activity significantly improved self-esteem (β = 0.520, t = 12.881, p <.05) and negatively affected BMI (β = -0.404, t = 7.658, p <.05). The analyses of the Structural Equation Model (SEM) showed that self-esteem demonstrated a significant negative effect on BMI (β=-0.181, t=2.965, p<.05) and mediated the relationship between physical activity and BMI, accounting for 20.6% of the total effect. Thus, elevating adolescents' self-esteem may lead to a direct and indirect reduction in BMI by promoting a heightened inclination towards physical activities. This research indicates that strategies to enhance adolescent health should broaden their focus beyond merely increasing physical activity and include efforts to boost self-esteem. It provides fresh perspectives on the intricacies of adolescent physical health, emphasizing the intricate relationships among physical activity, self-esteem, and BMI.

Abdul Muluk Improvisation Techniques in the Warung Kajang Lako Program on TVRI Jambi

One of the characteristics of traditional Indonesian theater, including Abdul Muluk Jambi, is that the performances rely on the improvisational abilities of the actors. Therefore, improvisation techniques are an essential element in traditional Indonesian theater acting, especially the Abdul Muluk Jambi theater. One of the theater groups that is intense in developing improvisation techniques based on Abdul Muluk's improvisations is Sanggar Pancarona Jambi. This research was conducted to find patterns of improvisational acting techniques in the Abdul Muluk performance by Sanggar Pancarona Jambi. The material object of this research is the performance of Abdul Muluk by Sanggar Pancarona which was broadcast on TVRI Jambi in the Warung Kajang Lako program. This event featured Abdul Muluk's appearance with a shortened duration. The selection of this object was based on the characteristics of the Abdul Muluk performance by Sanggar Pancarona which prioritizes the power of actor improvisation. To find patterns in Abdul Muluk's improvisation techniques, the research method used was a qualitative method with stages, observation, interviews and data analysis. The results achieved from this research are that Sanggar Pancarona Jambi uses improvisation techniques adopted from the Abdul Muluk Jambi theater. Abdul Muluk's improvisation technique which was applied at the Warung Kajang Lako TVRI Jambi event consisted of: Improvisation Rules, Building Agreement, Creating and Saying Topics, Creating Collective Imagination, Division of Tasks, Setting Timings, Starting from Introductions and Interacting with the Audience. The supporting element for Abdul Muluk's improvisation is music that is improvised in response to the actor's improvisation.

Meter‐Scale Distance Manipulation of Diverse Objects with Jet‐Induced Airflow Field

In nature, wind can transport objects of diverse shapes and materials over long distances spanning meters or beyond. In contrast, most noncontact manipulation methods are effective only over centimeter‐scale distances and require the manipulated objects to have specific magnetic, electrical, or other material properties and shapes. Herein, a meter‐scale distance manipulation method is presented for controlling the motion of objects of diverse shapes and materials on a plane surface using a jet‐induced airflow field. The airflow field is varied by controlling the direction of a single air jet projected onto a surface based on the positions of objects to steer the objects to follow desired trajectories up to 2.7 m away. A wide variety of objects can be automatically manipulated, from regularly shaped polystyrene hemispheres and sticks to irregularly shaped cotton wads and face masks as well as deformable tissue papers and plastic bags. The method is also robust, effectively manipulating objects under challenging conditions, e.g., external airflow disturbances, surface obstacles, and air–water interface. Finally, three application cases are demonstrated: collecting diverse objects into a target receptacle, hooking and retrieving heavy objects with a tethered mobile agent, and closing an electrical circuit with an untethered soft agent.

Effects of aerobic and resistance exercise for 9 months on serum free light chains in type 2 diabetes.

Background and aims: Serum polyclonal free light chains (FLCs) levels are associated with overall survival in the general population, reflecting their utility as a biomarker of underlying immune activation and inflammation. Regular exercise is known to ameliorate low-grade inflammation in chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes; however, the effects of different exercise training modalities on FLCs in adults with type 2 diabetes is unknown. This study investigated the effects of 9-month of aerobic, resistance or combined supervised exercise on serum FLCs in 164 patients with type 2 diabetes (age 58 ± 8years; 63% female). Methods: 164 participants from the Health Benefits of Aerobic and Resistance Training in individuals with type 2 diabetes trial (HART-D) were randomly assigned to no exercise (n = 27), aerobic exercise alone (n = 41), resistance exercise alone (n = 49), or a combination of aerobic and resistance exercise (n = 47). Fasting serum samples were collected before and after completion of the intervention to quantify changes in kappa and lambda FLCs, and serum creatinine, using commercially-available ELISAs. Results: At baseline, combined kappa and lambda FLCs (FLC sum; calculated as kappa + lambda FLCs) were positively correlated with high-sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) (r = 0.237, p < 0.05) and fat mass (r = 0.162, p < 0.05), and negatively associated with aerobic fitness (r = -0.238, p < 0.05). While non-exercise controls exhibited an increase in FLCs over the 9-month study, exercise training blunted this increase (Δ FLC sum control arm: 3.25 ± 5.07mg∙L-1 vs. all exercise arms: -0.252 ± 6.60mg∙L-1, p < 0.05), regardless of exercise modality. Conclusion: Serum FLCs were associated with physical fitness and body composition in patients with type 2 diabetes. 9-month of exercise training prevented the accumulation of FLCs, regardless of exercise modality. Unlike hs-CRP-which did not change during the trial-serum FLCs may serve as a more sensitive biomarker of chronic low-grade inflammation in this population.

Sketched with an ‘Oracular Pencil’: Predictive Drawing and the Manipulation of Time in Nineteenth-Century Illustrated Weeklies

Pictorial journalism in the latter nineteenth century faced a temporal conundrum: whereas words could travel by telegraph and hence at the speed of electricity, the accompanying illustrations had to travel as material objects and were chronically belated. This article analyzes the strategies with which two prominent Victorian weekly papers—Illustrated London News and Punch—sought to deal with the slowness of illustration and reconcile the speed differentials between textual and visual news with their printing deadlines and production cycles. The most striking of these strategies was to deploy an ‘oracular pencil’ to work up an illustration before an event had taken place. These pre-produced illustrations relied on specific visual codes that shaped the illustrations’ ‘truth.’ The article shows that, contrary to the self-positioning of pictorial journalists as reporting truthfully and speedily on the world ‘out there,’ the pictorial press had its own temporal and epistemological laws.

“Convinsed me a fresh in my hart”: Feeling Moravian in the Eighteenth-Century British World

ABSTRACT This article explores the popular spirituality of laymen and laywomen in England’s early Moravian movement. Specifically, the article proposes that British Moravians participated in a deeply “body-centered religion.” Many scholars have portrayed English Moravian piety in far different terms, especially when discussing the “stillness controversy” that fractured the Methodist-Moravian revivalist coalition in 1740. Unlike “noisy” Wesleyans and Whitefieldians, the thinking goes, English Moravians nurtured an interior form of awakened Protestantism that was “quiet,” “still,” “meditative,” “self-abasing,” and “reflective.” By contrast, this article joins the efforts of other emerging scholarship to retrieve the corporeality of Anglo-Moravianism. The author argues that adopting stillness and avoiding the Methodists’ “noise and shew of outward holiness” did not disembody Moravian piety—it necessarily fashioned believers’ bodies into critical sites of Moravian religious formation and subjective spiritual knowledge. The men and women following Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf’s call to “do nothing but quietly attend the Voice of the Lord” did not suddenly transcend the material world. With stilled flesh and quieted tongues, the physical bodies of Anglo-Brethren recognized, received, and related “a feeling of Grace in my hart.”

Beyond Schools: Multisensory Learning and Knowledge Acquisition in Informal Contexts—Perspectives from Rural Indonesia

It is not a new finding that much human learning takes place implicitly outside of educational institutions in informal, everyday contexts, yet these learning processes receive comparatively little systematic attention within the current anthropology of learning, education and schools. Based on long-term social anthropological research in a peasant community in rural Indonesia (Sulawesi), the article will address the complex multisensory forms of learning through which children acquire a large part of their competencies and their extensive environmental and agricultural knowledge. I will focus on the mixed-age “communities of practices” in which this knowledge is transmitted and acquired and show that affective bonds to peers and adults influence to a large extent which out-of-school areas of competence a child acquires. Building on the “embodied capital theory.” I argue that children in rural areas obtain a complex form of “ecological literacy” that encompasses not only a rich knowledge about the local ecosystems and agri- as well as horticultural processes but also a particular formation of the senses and the physical body in general (muscle size and memory, physical strength, coordination, balance, and motor skills). I shall conclude with some critical reflections on the general devaluation of the extra-curricular, non-formal, and environmental forms of learning, which can be observed not only in Indonesia but also worldwide and seems to be closely related to the global spread of Western psychological theory models about the healthy socio-emotional and cognitive development of children, supported by global institutions like UNICEF, World Bank, and Save the Children. For years, a constant increase of early childhood development programs can be observed, which aim at improving children’s school readiness, particularly in low-income countries, in order to enhance the future prospect of children. These programs, however, go hand in hand with the devaluation and oppression of indigenous knowledge systems and thus often worsen the future prospects of younger people.

Resistance training and cardiometabolic risk in women with metabolically healthy and unhealthy obesity.

Despite some reported benefits, there is a low quality of evidence for resistance training (RT) improving metabolic health of individuals with overweight or obesity. We evaluated the impact of RT on body composition, cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and physical performance, lipid-lipoprotein profile, inflammation, and glucose-insulin homeostasis in 51 postmenopausal women vs. 29 controls matched for age, obesity, and physical activity. Exercised women were further subdivided for comparison of RT effects into those presenting metabolically healthy obesity (MHO) and those with metabolically unhealthy obesity (MUHO) classified according to Karelis and Rabasa-Lhoret or an approach based on adipose tissue secretory dysfunction using the plasma adiponectin(A)/leptin (L) ratio. Participants followed a 4-month weekly RT program targeting major muscle groups (3x10 repetitions at 80% 1-RM). Percent fat marginally decreased and lean body mass increased (0.01<p<0.05) while CRF and muscular strength improved in all women, after RT (effect size [ES]: 0.11 to 1.21 [trivial to large effects], p˂0.01). Fasting plasma triacylglycerol and high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol levels slightly increased and decreased respectively in participants with MHO using the A/L ratio approach (ES: -0.47 to 1.07 [small to large effects], p˂0.05). Circulating interleukin-6 soluble receptor decreased in both groups and soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor-1/soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor-2 in women with MUHO only, irrespective of definition (ES: -0.42 to -0.84 [small to large effects], p˂0.05). Glucose-insulin homeostasis was unchanged regardless of group or definition. RT improved physical performance and body composition but had a lesser impact on cardiometabolic risk in women with obesity, irrespective of their metabolic phenotype.

South East Asian Nutrition Surveys (SEANUTS) II - a multi-country evaluation of nutrition and lifestyle indicators in children aged 12 years and below: Rationale and Design.

To assess the nutritional status, growth parameters and lifestyle behaviours of children between 0.5-12 years in nationally representative samples in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam. A cross-sectional study was conducted in the four countries, between May 2019 and April 2021. Data collected can be categorized into four categories: (1) Growth - anthropometry, body composition, development disorder, (2) Nutrient intake and dietary habits - 24-hour dietary recall, child food habits, breast feeding and complementary feeding, (3) Socio-economic status - food insecurity and child health status/environmental, and (4) Lifestyle behaviours - physical activity patterns, fitness, sunlight exposure, sleep patterns, body image and behavioural problems. Blood samples were also collected for biochemical and metabolomic analyses. With the pandemic emerging during the study, a COVID-19 questionnaire was developed and implemented. Both rural and urban areas in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam. Children who were well, with no physical disability or serious infections/injuries and between the age of 0.5-12 years old were recruited. The South East Asian Nutrition Surveys II recruited 13,933 children. Depending on the country, data collection from children were conducted in schools and commune health centres, or temples, or sub-district administrative organizations. The results will provide up-to-date insights into nutritional status and lifestyle behaviours of children in the four countries. Subsequently, these data will facilitate exploration of potential gaps in dietary intake among Southeast Asian children and enable local authorities to plan future nutrition and lifestyle intervention strategies.

Responding to representations of fatphobia in prose and comics

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore teacher candidates’ response to young adult literature (prose and comics) featuring fat identified protagonists. The paper considers the textual and embodied resources readers use and reject when imagining and interpreting a character’s body. This paper explores how readers’ meaning making was influenced when reading prose versus comics. This paper adds to a corpus of scholarship about the relationships between young adult literature, comics, bodies and reader response theory. Design/methodology/approach At the time of the study, participants were enrolled in a teacher education program at a Midwestern University, meeting monthly for a voluntary book club dedicated to reading and discussing young adult literature. To examine readers’ responses to comics and prose featuring fat-identified protagonists, the author used descriptive qualitative methodologies to conduct a thematic analysis of meeting transcripts, written participant reflections and researcher memos. Analysis was grounded in theories of reader response, critical fat studies and multimodality. Findings Analyses indicated many readers reject textual clues indicating a character’s body size and weight were different from their own. Readers read their bodies into the stories, regarding them as self-help narratives instead of radical counternarratives. Some readers were not able to read against their assumptions of thinness (and whiteness) until prompted by the researcher and other participants. Originality/value Although many reader response scholars have demonstrated readers’ tendencies toward personal identification in the face of racial and class differences, there is less research regarding classroom practices around the entanglement of physical bodies, body image and texts. Analyzing reader’s responses to the constructions of fat bodies in prose versus comics may help English Language Arts (ELA) educators and students identify and deconstruct ideologies of thin-thinking and fatphobia. This study, which demonstrates thin readers’ tendencies to overidentify with protagonists, suggests ELA classrooms might encourage readers to engage in critical literacies that support them in reading both with and against their identities.

"I'm Constantly in This Dilemma": How Migrant Technology Professionals Perceive Social Media Recommendation Algorithms

Migrants experience unique needs and use social media, in part, to address them. While prior work has primarily focused on migrant populations who are vulnerable socio-economically and legally, less is known about how highly educated migrant populations use social media. Additionally, a growing body of work focuses on algorithmic perceptions and resistance, primarily from laypersons' perspectives rather than people with high degrees of algorithmic literacy. To address these gaps, we draw from interviews with 20 Chinese-born migrant technology professionals. We found that social media played an integral role in helping participants meet their unique needs but that participants perceived social media algorithms to negatively shape the content they consumed, which ultimately influenced their mobility-related aspirations and goals. We discuss how findings challenge the promise of algorithmic literacy and contribute to a human-centered conceptualization of algorithmic mobility as socially and algorithmically produced motion that concerns the movement of physical bodies and interactions as well as associated digital movement. Specifically, we introduce a fourth dimension of algorithmic mobility: algorithmically curated content on social media and elsewhere based on facets of users' identities directly influences users' mobility-related aspirations and goals, such as how, when, and where they go. Finally, we call for transnational policy interventions related to algorithms and highlight design considerations around content moderation, algorithmic user-control, and contestability.

Degradable 4D-printed hydration-driven actuators from a single family of amphiphilic star-shaped copolymers

Actuators are largely used in biomedical applications in the presence of sensitive live cells or biomolecules, which makes actuators triggered by water uptake highly appealing. Dual-material printing and hydration driven expansion is a method of choice to produce such actuators, but mostly rely of non-degradable polymers or on the combination of polymers of different nature that may lead to interface incompatibilities. To overcome this challenge, we report here on two photocrosslinkable resins based on a single family of degradable hydrophilic or hydrophobic star-shaped poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(lactide) copolymers. The two materials are first printed individually and characterized to ensure that their properties enable the printing of dual material objects by stereolithographic digital-light processing. Dual-materials actuators are then printed by sequential switching of the hydrophobic and hydrophilic resin baths. Objects of simple and complex shapes are easily obtained and exhibit rapid actuation (<60 s) upon hydration. The swelling-induced shape changes are accurately reproduced by numerical modeling of the printed geometries using the obtained material swelling properties. This set of results offers new perspectives to develop 4D-printed temporary medical devices.

Patient and relative experiences of the ReSPECT process in the community: an interview-based study

BackgroundThe Recommended Summary Plan for Emergency Care and Treatment (ReSPECT) was launched in the UK in 2016. ReSPECT is designed to facilitate meaningful discussions between healthcare professionals, patients, and their relatives about preferences for treatment in future emergencies; however, no study has investigated patients’ and relatives’ experiences of ReSPECT in the community.ObjectivesTo explore how patients and relatives in community settings experience the ReSPECT process and engage with the completed form.MethodsPatients who had a ReSPECT form were identified through general practice surgeries in three areas in England; either patients or their relatives (where patients lacked capacity) were recruited. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, focusing on the participants’ understandings and experiences of the ReSPECT process and form. Data were analysed using inductive thematic analysis.ResultsThirteen interviews took place (six with patients, four with relatives, three with patient and relative pairs). Four themes were developed: (1) ReSPECT records a patient’s wishes, but is entangled in wider relationships; (2) healthcare professionals’ framings of ReSPECT influence patients’ and relatives’ experiences; (3) patients and relatives perceive ReSPECT as a do-not-resuscitate or end-of-life form; (4) patients’ and relatives’ relationships with the ReSPECT form as a material object vary widely. Patients valued the opportunity to express their wishes and conceptualised ReSPECT as a process of caring for themselves and for their family members’ emotional wellbeing. Participants who described their ReSPECT experiences positively said healthcare professionals clearly explained the ReSPECT process and form, allocated sufficient time for an open discussion of patients’ preferences, and provided empathetic explanations of treatment recommendations. In cases where participants said healthcare professionals did not provide clear explanations or did not engage them in a conversation, experiences ranged from confusion about the form and how it would be used to lingering feelings of worry, upset, or being burdened with responsibility.ConclusionsWhen ReSPECT conversations involved an open discussion of patients’ preferences, clear information about the ReSPECT process, and empathetic explanations of treatment recommendations, working with a healthcare professional to co-develop a record of treatment preferences and recommendations could be an empowering experience, providing patients and relatives with peace of mind.

Legal Regulation of Inheritance of Non-Fungible Tokens

The development of digital technologies permeates almost all areas of public relations. At the same time, certain areas remain more conservative, and legal regulation also lags behind the pace of general digitalization. This situation is especially clearly visible in the field of inheritance of digital assets. The subject of this article is to explore the opportunities and risks associated with inheriting NFTs. The purpose of the article is to determine algorithms for inheriting NFTs in the context of insufficient legal regulation of this procedure in the Russian Federation. The work uses methods of both empirical (analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction, systematization) and theoretical (methods of constructing and studying the object of study and methods of constructing and justifying theoretical knowledge) levels. When transferring a token, a unique record is transferred, and the previous owner of the NFT loses the token after it is transferred. This makes NFTs similar to material objects and necessitates separate legal regulation of the rights associated with NFTs. An NFT is inherited, not a digital object such as art. The main problem with inheriting NFTs is that these objects are intangible. They cannot be physically materialized, stored, for example, in a safe deposit box, or transferred physically. Therefore, if the owners do not have specific heirs, it will even be difficult to include NFT in the inheritance or find out about the token. Inheriting an NFT requires that the will name the NFT and include an explanation of where the NFT is held. The testator’s password must also be available. There may be problems associated with the compulsory share in the inheritance, related both to access and to the assessment and dynamically changing value of the NFT. Also, the valuation of the NFT will influence the amount of the state fee for issuing a certificate of inheritance. The practical implementation of NFT inheritance is facilitated by the development of appropriate digital technologies that optimize procedural aspects.

Psychedelics and the 'inner healer': Myth or mechanism?

Reference to an intrinsic healing mechanism or an 'inner healer' is commonplace amongst psychedelic drug-using cultures. The 'inner healer' refers to the belief that psychedelic compounds, plants or concoctions have an intrinsically regenerative action on the mind and brain, analogous to intrinsic healing mechanisms within the physical body, for example, after sickness or injury. Here, we sought to test and critique this idea by devising a single subjective rating item pertaining to perceived 'inner healing' effects. The item was issued to 59 patients after a single high (25 mg, n = 30) or 'placebo' (1 mg, n = 29) dose of psilocybin in a double-blind randomised controlled trial of psilocybin for depression. Inner healer scores were higher after the high versus placebo dose of psilocybin (t = 3.88, p < 0.001). Within the high-dose sub-sample only, inner healer scores predicted improved depressive symptomatology at 2 weeks post-dosing. The principle of activating inner healing mechanisms via psychedelics is scientifically nascent; however, this study takes a positivist and pragmatic step forward, asking whether it warrants further examination.

Balance and deep connections: the impact of physical activity on body and sexual self-esteem, psychological distress, and marital satisfaction among adults.

To date, no research has examined the relationship between sexual self-esteem, body self-esteem, psychological distress, marital satisfaction, and engagement in physical activities. Through a study involving 443 adults the aim of this research was to analyze the connections between engaging in physical activities, body self-esteem, sexual self-esteem, marital satisfaction, and psychological distress among adults. The results obtained through Partial Least Squares (PLS) modeling with SmartPLS reveal significant interconnections among these variables. The correlation between body self-esteem and psychological distress, the positive relationship between sexual satisfaction and positive sexual self-esteem, as well as the beneficial influence of engaging in physical activities on marital satisfaction, are key highlights of this study. The robustness of the measures, confirmed by high coefficients, strengthens the credibility of the results. Despite these advancements, the cross-sectional nature of the study emphasizes the need for longitudinal research to gain a deeper understanding of psychological and relational dynamics over time. In conclusion, this study offers significant contributions to promoting balanced marital relationships, highlighting the importance of considering body and sexual self-esteem, psychological distress, and physical activity within the context of human relationships.

Filling childhood with health program: a fun strategy to encourage healthy habits in children

Sedentary lifestyle and inadequate diet are associated with 2.6 billion deaths each year. Health education could improve health habits in childhood. We investigated the effects of a health education program on physical activity (PA) level, eating habits, body composition, and cardiorespiratory fitness in schoolchildren. A total of 50 children from Brazilian public school were evaluated into a PA level and food consumption (questionnaire), cardiorespiratory fitness (PACER), and body composition (skinfolds), allocated to either an 8-week intervention at Fun Education Group (FEG, n=19, 8.2±0.5yr) or control group (CG, n=31, 8.1±0.5yr). FEG was exposed to an educative website (1h - TOODS KIDS), filled a sticker album according to habits (PA and eating) of each weekday, and families received instructions (leaflets and lecture) on how to improve their habits. The generalized linear models analysis revealed an improvement to FEG at cardiorespiratory fitness (6.4 laps, p=0.042; and 0.4 km/h, p=0.031), more fruits and vegetable consumption (1.4 unities, p=0.029) and body fat reduction (-1.5%, p=0.001), compared to CG. The participation at Program suggest that a short period of feasible intervention, with low-cost materials, aroused and motivated children to healthier habits with positive effects on cardiorespiratory fitness, body fat, and consumption of fruits and vegetable.

People and places

AbstractSeveral authors have argued that socially significant places such as countries, cities and establishments are immaterial objects, despite their being spatially located. In contrast, we aim to defend a reductive materialist view of such entities, which identifies them with their physical territories or premises. Accordingly, these are all material objects; typically, aggregates of land and infrastructure. Admittedly, our terms for these entities may also sometimes be used to denote their associated groups of people. But as long as countries, cities and establishments are understood as places, we submit, they are all material objects: the physical territories or premises of their associated groups.