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To investigate the effect of (i) physical education (PE) lesson intensity and (ii) skill complexity, and (iii) their interaction on students’ on-task behaviour in the classroom. Within-subject repeated-measures. Participants were children (N=101, age 7–11) recruited from four elementary schools in Oxfordshire, United Kingdom. The experiment consisted of manipulating the aerobic intensity (low/medium/high) and skill complexity (low/high) of PE lessons. Children participated in all six conditions of the experiment: low intensity–low complexity (flexibility), medium intensity–low complexity (health related exercise), high intensity–low complexity (sprinting games), low intensity–high complexity (bi-lateral ball skills), medium intensity–high complexity (ball games), high intensity–high complexity (aerobics). Children’s behaviour in the classroom was observed every 30s for 25min before and after each PE lesson and rated as on-task or off-task. A main effect of intensity on children’s on-task behaviour was found (F(2,51634)=11.07, p<0.001), with greater on-task behaviour following high intensity PE lessons (thigh=2.85, p<0.01, d=0.2). No main effect of complexity on on-task behaviour was observed (F(1,51636)=1.89, p=0.17). The interaction of intensity and complexity was significant (F(2,51628)=69.19, p<0.001). These findings suggest that participation in PE lessons can improve children’s on-task behaviour in the classroom. PE lessons involving high complexity and high intensity, or low complexity and medium intensity appear to have the greatest benefits for students’ behaviour in the classroom.

Despite well-established benefits, the majority of young people around the globe are not sufficiently active. In many countries, including Australia, physical activity (i.e. physical education and school sport) is not mandatory in the final two years of high school (i.e. senior school years). The aim of this study was to assess the impact of a time-efficient physical activity intervention on senior school students’ on-task behaviour and subjective vitality. This was a sub-study of the Burn 2 Learn (B2L) cluster randomised controlled trial, which included two cohorts. Participants for this sub-study (N = 221) were from 10 secondary schools (23 classes) located in New South Wales, Australia (Cohort 2). Teachers allocated to the B2L intervention group were provided with training, resources and support to facilitate the delivery of two high-intensity activity breaks per week during lesson time for five weeks. A wait-list control was used as comparison group. On-task behaviour was assessed at baseline and post-test, using a momentary time sampling procedure and expressed as a percentage of lesson time. At post-test, subjective vitality was assessed at the start and end of the lesson using a validated questionnaire. Significant group-by-time effects were observed for students’ on-task behaviour in favour of the B2L group [adjusted mean difference = 19.3% of lesson time (95% CI, 0.8 to 37.8), p = 0.042, d = 0.43]. At post-test, significant group-by-time effects were observed for students’ subjective vitality favouring the B2L group [adjusted mean difference = 0.67 units (95% CI, 0.3 to 1.0), p < 0.001, d = 0.36]. The B2L intervention was successful in improving senior school students’ on-task behaviour and their subjective vitality. These findings highlight the potential academic benefits of re-allocating curriculum time to physical activity during the senior school years.

Objectives: To investigate the effect of (i) Physical Education (PE) lesson intensity and (ii) skill complexity, (iii) their interaction on students’ on-task behaviour in the classroom, (iv) the role of individual differences in the effect of PE lesson intensity and complexity on on-task behaviour, and (v) the mediation of this effect by emotion states. Method: Participants were children (N=101, age 7-11) recruited from four primary schools in Oxfordshire, United Kingdom. The intervention consisted of manipulating the aerobic intensity (low/medium/high) and skill complexity (low/high) of PE lessons. Children participated in all six conditions of the experiment: low intensity/low complexity (flexibility), medium intensity/low complexity (health related exercise), high intensity/low complexity (sprinting games), low intensity/high complexity (bi-lateral ball skills), medium intensity/high complexity (ball games), high intensity/high complexity (aerobics). Children’s behaviour in the classroom was observed every 30 seconds for 25 minutes before and after each PE lesson and rated as on-task or off-task. Participants completed self-reports on tablets three times per classroom lesson and once at the end of each PE lesson. Behaviour was analysed with multilevel models, as well as individual differences in participants’ response to physical activity (PA). Mediation through emotion states was investigated with structural equation models. Results: No main effect of complexity on on-task behaviour was observed. No main effect of intensity on children’s on-task behaviour was found, although on-task behaviour after high-intensity PE lessons was significantly higher than before PE (χ(high intensity)2=4.834, p<0.05), the effect size did not reach the cut-off for a small effect (d=0.19, OR=1.41). There was an interaction effect of intensity and complexity, and high intensity/high complexity was the only condition to reach significance (χ(high-high)2=12.197, p<0.001) and had an effect size greater than d=0.2 (d=0.33, OR=1.82). There were individual differences in participants’ response to PA; those with the lowest attainment level and those who were least on-task before PE had the strongest response to PA, and girls had a more positive response than boys. There was no significant mediation of the relationship between PE lesson content and subsequent on-task behaviour by emotion states or PE lesson enjoyment. Conclusions: These findings suggest that participation in PE lessons can improve children’s on-task behaviour in the classroom, in particular for those students with low levels of on-task behaviour. PE lessons involving high complexity and high intensity appear to have the greatest benefits for students’ behaviour in the classroom.

Recent studies have revealed the potential of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) to treat solid tumors effectively and safely. However, the translation of TIL therapy for patients is still hampered by non-standardized and laborious manufacturing procedures that are expensive and produce highly variable cellular products. To address these limitations, the CliniMACS Prodigy ® Tumor Reactive T cell (TRT) Process has been developed. The TRT Process allows the automated isolation, transduction, and expansion of tumor-reactive T cells in a clinically compliant and closed system under GMP conditions. The TRT Process can generate tumor-reactive T cells using several methodologies which reflect clinically relevant applications. It can manage an automated Rapid Expansion Protocol (REP) using GMP-compliant reagents to generate a TIL cell product from solid tumors, including melanoma. Additionally, the TRT Process automates the closed selection of CD137-expressing TILs directly from tumor digest followed by the direct expansion of selected cells. Enriched CD137 + TILs could be robustly expanded even when as few as 1x10 4 TILs were used to seed the REP phase. These data provide proof-of-concept for the isolation and expansion of tumor-reactive T cells from tumor digest in a closed, automated manner in the CliniMACS Prodigy, allowing for an efficient, simple, and reproducible manufacturing of TIL products. The direct selection of CD137 + TILs from tumor digest removes the need for the pre-REP phase, selects for therapeutically relevant cells, and can dramatically shorten the manufacturing time compared to conventional methods.

Atherosclerosis is a major underlying cause of cardiovascular disease. Previous studies showed that inhibition of the co-stimulatory CD40 ligand (CD40L)-CD40 signaling axis profoundly attenuates atherosclerosis. As CD40L exerts multiple functions depending on the cell-cell interactions involved, we sought to investigate the function of the most relevant CD40L-expressing cell types in atherosclerosis: T cells and platelets. Atherosclerosis-prone mice with a CD40L-deficiency in CD4 + T cells display impaired Th1 polarization, as reflected by reduced interferon-γ production, and smaller atherosclerotic plaques containing fewer T-cells, smaller necrotic cores, an increased number of smooth muscle cells and thicker fibrous caps. Mice with a corresponding CD40-deficiency in CD11c + dendritic cells phenocopy these findings, suggesting that the T cell-dendritic cell CD40L-CD40 axis is crucial in atherogenesis. Accordingly, sCD40L/sCD40 and interferon-γ concentrations in carotid plaques and plasma are positively correlated in patients with cerebrovascular disease. Platelet-specific deficiency of CD40L does not affect atherogenesis but ameliorates atherothrombosis. Our results establish divergent and cell-specific roles of CD40L-CD40 in atherosclerosis, which has implications for therapeutic strategies targeting this pathway. Previous studies have shown that the CD40L-CD40 signaling axis plays a role in atherosclerosis. Here the authors investigate the cell-specific functions of the most relevant CD40L-expressing cell types in atherosclerosis. Deficiency of T cell-derived CD40L reduces and stabilizes plaques through impaired Th1 polarization while platelet-derived CD40L ameliorates atherothrombosis.