Short-term reliability of inflammatory mediators and response to exercise in the heat

Prospective application of serum cytokines, lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and heat shock proteins (eHSPs) requires reliable measurement of these biomarkers that can signify exercise-induced heat stress in hot conditions. To accomplish this, both short-term (7 day) reliability (at rest, n = 12) and the acute responsiveness of each biomarker to exercise in the heat (pre and post 60-min cycling, 34.5°C and 70% RH, n = 20) were evaluated. Serum was analysed for the concentration of C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), heat shock protein 72 (eHSP72), immunoglobulin M (IgM) and LPS. Test–retest reliability was determined as the coefficient of variation (CV). Biomarkers with the least short-term within-participant variation were IL-6 (19%, ±20%; CV, ±95% confidence limits (CL)) and LPS (23%, ±13%). Greater variability was observed for IgM, eHSP72 and CRP (CV range 28–38%). IL-6 exhibited the largest increase in response to acute exercise (95%, ±11%, P = < 0.001) and although CRP had a modest CV (12%, ±7%), it increased substantially post-exercise (P = 0.02, ES; 0.78). In contrast, eHSP72 and LPS exhibited trivial changes post-exercise. It appears variation of common inflammatory markers after exercise in the heat is not always discernible from short-term (weekly) variation.     

Validity and Reliability of Three Self-Report Instruments for Assessing Attainment of Physical Activity Guidelines in University Students

The purpose of this study was to compare the validity and reliability of three short physical activity self-report instruments to determine their potential for use with university student populations. The participants (N = 155; 44.5% male; 22.9 ± 5.13 years) wore an accelerometer for 9 consecutive days and completed a single-item measure, the a brief two item measure and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire—Short Form questionnaires on day 1 and 9. Correlations between self-reported and accelerometer derived moderate-to-vigorous physical activity levels were moderate for the International Physical Activity Questionnaire—Short Form, while poor for the single-item measure and the a brief two item measure. The agreement level was high with the International Physical Activity Questionnaire—Short Form (77.4%) and moderate for both the single-item measure (45.2 %) and a brief two item measure (44.5 %). The intraclass correlations between the two administrations were moderate to strong across all measures (0.52–0.70) in 133 participants. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire—Short Form is the most suitable of these three self-report instruments for use with this population due to higher correlations and levels of agreement with accelerometry.     

Researching up and across in physical education and sport pedagogy: methodological lessons learned from an intergenerational narrative inquiry

Of issue in this paper are the ways in which different forms of narrative may be of value in undertaking research in potentially thorny situations. The project that inspired this paper saw 30 Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy (PESP) Early Career Academics (ECAs) from more than 20 universities across Australasia, North America and Europe, provide narrative accounts of their ongoing academic experiences. From these stories, three letters seeking advice and guidance from leaders in the field were constructed. Following further feedback from the ECAs, the 3 letters were sent to 11 professors in the PESP field with a request to respond, also in letter form. The composite letters and the professorial responses were then the subject of a symposium at an international PESP conference. While the larger project engages with questions of being and becoming an academic in the neoliberal university, this paper is primarily concerned with methodological issues, including our steps and missteps with narrative, inquiry and the field. More specifically, the focus is on narrative as both the method and phenomena of study. As such, we consider issues associated with using dialogue as data, the provocation of participants, as well as both the presentation and representation of data and the relative power of the participants. In doing so, we critically engage with issues of anonymity (or lack thereof), the practice of ‘researching up’ and finally reach the conclusion that the careful approach to data generation, treatment and presentation necessitated by this project, should be a more regular feature of all qualitative inquiry.