@article{RothMauerObingeretal.2010,
  author    = {Roth, Kristina and Mauer, Sonja and Obinger, Matthias and Ruf, Katharina C. and Graf, Christine and Kriemler, Susi and Lenz, Dorothea and Lehmacher, Walter and Hebestreit, Helge},
  title     = {Prevention through Activity in Kindergarten Trial (PAKT): A cluster randomised controlled trial to assess the effects of an activity intervention in preschool children},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-67972},
  year      = {2010},
  abstract  = {Background: Physical activity and motor skills acquisition are of high importance for health-related prevention and a normal development in childhood. However, few intervention studies exist in preschool children focussing on an increase in physical activity and motor skills. Proof of positive effects is available but not consistent. Methods/Design: The design, curriculum, and evaluation strategy of a cluster randomised intervention study in preschool children are described in this manuscript. In the Prevention through Activity in Kindergarten Trial (PAKT), 41 of 131 kindergartens of Wuerzburg and Kitzingen, Germany, were randomised into an intervention and a control group by a random number table stratified for the location of the kindergarten in an urban (more than 20.000 inhabitants) or rural area. The aims of the intervention were to increase physical activity and motor skills in the participating children, and to reduce health risk factors as well as media use. The intervention was designed to involve children, parents and teachers, and lasted one academic year. It contained daily 30-min sessions of physical education in kindergarten based on a holistic pedagogic approach termed the "early psychomotor education". The sessions were instructed by kindergarten teachers under regular supervision by the research team. Parents were actively involved by physical activity homework cards. The kindergarten teachers were trained in workshops and during the supervision. Assessments were performed at baseline, 3-5 months into the intervention, at the end of the intervention and 2-4 months after the intervention. The primary outcomes of the study are increases in physical activity (accelerometry) and in motor skills performance (composite score of obstacle course, standing long jump, balancing on one foot, jumping sidewise to and fro) between baseline and the two assessments during the intervention. Secondary outcomes include decreases in body adiposity (BMI, skin folds), media use (questionnaire), blood pressure, number of accidents and infections (questionnaire), increases in specific motor skills (throwing, balancing, complex motor performance, jumping) and in flexibility. Discussion: If this trial proofs the effectiveness of the multilevel kindergarten based physical activity intervention on preschooler's activity levels and motor skills, the programme will be distributed nationwide in Germany. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00623844},
  subject      = {Vorschulkind},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{ReinhardBertoliniSaitoetal.2022,
  author    = {Reinhard, Nils and Bertolini, Enrico and Saito, Aika and Sekiguchi, Manabu and Yoshii, Taishi and Rieger, Dirk and Helfrich-F{\"o}rster, Charlotte},
  title     = {The lateral posterior clock neurons of Drosophila melanogaster express three neuropeptides and have multiple connections within the circadian clock network and beyond},
  series = {Journal of Comparative Neurology},
  volume    = {530},
  journal   = {Journal of Comparative Neurology},
  number    = {9},
  doi       = {10.1002/cne.25294},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-276456},
  pages     = {1507 -- 1529},
  year      = {2022},
  abstract  = {Drosophila's lateral posterior neurons (LPNs) belong to a small group of circadian clock neurons that is so far not characterized in detail. Thanks to a new highly specific split-Gal4 line, here we describe LPNs' morphology in fine detail, their synaptic connections, daily bimodal expression of neuropeptides, and propose a putative role of this cluster in controlling daily activity and sleep patterns. We found that the three LPNs are heterogeneous. Two of the neurons with similar morphology arborize in the superior medial and lateral protocerebrum and most likely promote sleep. One unique, possibly wakefulness-promoting, neuron with wider arborizations extends from the superior lateral protocerebrum toward the anterior optic tubercle. Both LPN types exhibit manifold connections with the other circadian clock neurons, especially with those that control the flies' morning and evening activity (M- and E-neurons, respectively). In addition, they form synaptic connections with neurons of the mushroom bodies, the fan-shaped body, and with many additional still unidentified neurons. We found that both LPN types rhythmically express three neuropeptides, Allostatin A, Allostatin C, and Diuretic Hormone 31 with maxima in the morning and the evening. The three LPN neuropeptides may, furthermore, signal to the insect hormonal center in the pars intercerebralis and contribute to rhythmic modulation of metabolism, feeding, and reproduction. We discuss our findings in the light of anatomical details gained by the recently published hemibrain of a single female fly on the electron microscopic level and of previous functional studies concerning the LPN.},
  language  = {en}
}