Background: Cortisol is a marker of physiological arousal, exhibiting a characteristic pattern of diurnal activity. The daily cortisol profile has been examined extensively and is atypical in a number of clinical disorders. However, there are very few studies focussing on the cortisol profile in adults with intellectual disabilities (ID). This…

This article describes the transition from a traditional instructor-centered course, based on lectures, to a student-centered course based on active learning methodologies as part of the reform of the Spanish higher education system within the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). Specifically, we describe the use of active learning methodologies…

Study aim: To assess the effects of 8-week endurance training in swimming on work capacity of boys aged 12 years. Material and methods: The following groups of schoolboys aged 12 years were studied: untrained control (UC; n = 14) and those training swimming for two years. The latter ones were subjected to 8-week training in classical style (CS; n…

Children with autism often suffer from sleep disturbances, and compared to age-matched controls, have decreased melatonin levels, as indicated by urine levels of the primary melatonin metabolite, 6-sulfatoxymelatonin (6-SM). We therefore investigated the relationship between 6-SM levels and sleep architecture in children with autism spectrum…

A transactional model examining the longitudinal association between vagal regulation (as indexed by vagal withdrawal) and maternal sensitivity from age 2.5 to age 5.5 was assessed. The sample included 356 children (171 male, 185 female) and their mothers who participated in a laboratory visit at age 2.5, 4.5, and 5.5. Cardiac vagal tone was…

Objective: The study examines metabolic syndrome (MetS) among college students at 3 geographically distinct US campuses. Participants: Undergraduates ("N" = 360; 68% women), 18 to 24 years of age, were recruited at each public university in January and February 2011. MetS prevalence was evaluated in 83% ("n" = 299)…

Children chronically exposed to stress early in life are at increased risk for maladaptive outcomes, though the physiological mechanisms driving these effects are unknown. Cortisol reactivity was tested as a mediator of the relation between prenatal substance exposure and/or early adversity on adaptive and maladaptive outcomes. Data were drawn…

It is important to account for timing of puberty when studying the adolescent brain and cognition. The use of classical methods for assessing pubertal status may not be feasible in some studies, especially in male adolescents. Using data from a sample of 478 males from a longitudinal birth cohort, we describe the calculations of three independent…

A misconception regarding the human metabolism has been shown to be widespread among high school students. The students consider glucose as the sole metabolic fuel, disregarding that lipids and amino acids can be oxidized for ATP production by human cells. This misconception seems to be a consequence of formal teaching in grade and high schools.…

Mechanisms underlying socioeconomic disparities in school readiness and health outcomes, particularly obesity, among preschool-aged children are complex and poorly understood. Obesity can induce changes in proteins in the circulation that contribute to the negative impact of obesity on health; such changes may relate to cognitive and emotion…

Intermediary metabolism can be a complex area to study due to the inherent modularity of the catabolic biochemical processes. This article outlines a novel, cost-effective, and universally applicable teaching activity to enhance students understanding of the inter-relationship between the key processes of intermediary metabolism. A simple origami…

Obesity has become a true pandemic. In the United States, over two thirds of adults are obese or overweight. The prevalence of obesity has doubled since 1980. The increase in the prevalence of obese and overweight individuals has happened too rapidly for it to be due to an alteration in the genome. The gastrointestinal, sensory (taste and…

This study used a prospective adoption design to investigate effects of prenatal and postnatal parent depressive symptom exposure on child hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) activity and associated internalizing symptoms. Birth mother prenatal symptoms and adoptive mother/father postnatal (9-month, 27-month) symptoms were assessed with the Beck…

Educators are exposed to a variety of stressors, which can lead to poorer teaching performance, burnout, and increased student misbehavior (Jennings & Greenberg, 2009). Although self-report measures of stress are most commonly used in education research, physiological measures of stress may also contribute to the understanding of educators'…

Several [alpha]-oxocarboxylic acids play key roles in metabolism in plants and animals. However, there are inconsistencies between the structures as commonly portrayed and the reported acid ionization constants, which result because the acids are predominantly hydrated in aqueous solution; that is, the predominant form is RC(OH)[subscript 2]COOH…