Dietitians’ perceptions and experience of blenderised feeds for paediatric tube-feeding

Objective: There is an emerging interest in the use of blenderised food for tube-feeding (BFTF). This survey explored paediatric dietitians' perceptions and experiences of BFTF use. Design: A web-based questionnaire was distributed to the Paediatric group of the British Dietetic Association. The survey captured dietitians' personal opinions and experience supporting children on BFTF, and the perceptions of carers. Results: Of the 77 respondents, 19 were aware of professional guidelines and 63 had never received training on BFTF. Thirty-four would not recommend BFTF and 11 would advise against its use; yet 43 would recommend it to supplement commercial feeds. Fifty-seven would change their perception about BFTF if there were evidence-based guidelines. Forty-four would feel confident to support a patient using BFTF. Forty-three had previous experience supporting a patient with BFTF. The main concerns perceived by dietitians, pertinent to the use of BFTF, were nutritional inadequacy (n=71), tube blockages (n=64) and increased infection risk (n=59) but these were significantly higher than those experienced by themselves in clinical practice (p<0.001 for all three). A reduction in reflux and vomiting and increased carer involvement were the main perceived and observed benefits by both dietitians and carers. Conclusions: The use of these feeds for tube-fed children is increasingly being seen as a viable choice. Dietitians experienced significantly fewer issues with the use of BFTF in clinical practice compared with their self-reported apprehensions in the survey. Well-controlled studies are now needed to objectively assess the benefits, risks, costs and practicality of BFTF

Youth fitness testing in South African primary school children : national normative data, fitness and fatness, and effects of socioeconomic status

Includes abstract.Includes bibliographical references (p. 173-214).Overweight, obesity and declining levels of physical fitness have been identified as a problem in many developed countries (1). More recently concern has been raised as a result of the rapid increase in the prevalence rates of overweight and obesity in developing nations ((2); (3); (4); (5)). However, little information is available at a national level for South African primary school children. In this thesis, the current nutritional status and baseline measures of physical fitness are established for a large and representative sample of South African primary school children from a range of ethnic and socioeconomic groups. Interactions between nutritional factors and physical fitness are also considered

Mild Dehydration Led to Increased Difficulty Falling Asleep

Sleep is fundamental process that benefits health and overall quality of life which can be affected by various aspects of daily living such as dehydration. A study has yet to investigate the impacts of euhydration and mild dehydration on sleep. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine effects of euhydration, mild-dehydration, and ad libitum drinking on sleep. METHODS: Eighteen male participants (mean±SD; age, 23±4y; height, 175.8±5.7cm; weight, 80.1±9.7kg) reported to the laboratory with different hydration status for 4 consecutive mornings(Day 1, baseline; Day 2, euhydrated; Day 3, mild-dehydrated; Day 4, ad libitum drinking). Hydration status was monitored by first morning urine specific gravity (USG) and plasma osmolality. Sleepwas measured using the Karolinska sleep diary (KSD). RESULTS: USG (baseline, 1.024±0.006; euhydrated, 1.018±0.007; mild-dehydrated, 1.030±0.003; ad libitum, 1.021±0.008, pCONCLUSION: When subjects were mildly dehydrated, sleep duration was longer while it was more difficult to fall asleep. More research is necessary, but the results of this study suggest it may be important to maintain euhydration to fall asleep easier

In Pursuit of an Easy to Use Brain Computer Interface for Domestic Use in a Population with Brain Injury

This paper presents original research investigating a sensor based, ambient assisted smart home platform, within the framework of a brain computer interface (BackHome). This multimodal system integrates home-based sensors, mobile monitoring, with communication tools, web browsing, smart home control and cognitive rehabilitation. The target population are people living at home with acquired brain injury. This research engaged with the target population and those without brain injury, who provided a control for system testing. Aligned with our ethical governance a strong user centric ethos was foundational to participant engagement. Participant experience included three individual sessions to complete a pre-set protocol with supervision. Evaluation methodology included observations, time logging, completion of protocol and usability questionnaires. Results confirmed the average accuracy score for the people without brain injury was 82.6% (±4.7), performing best with the cognitive rehabilitation. Target end users recorded an average accuracy score of 76% (±11.5) with the speller logging the highest accuracy score. Additional outcomes included the need to refine the aesthetic appearance, as well as improving the reliability and responsiveness of the BCI. The findings outline the importance of engaging with end users to design and develop marketable BCI products for use in a domestic environment. DOI: 10.17762/ijritcc2321-8169.150610

P300 Brain Computer Interface Control after an Acquired Brain Injury

Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCI) are systems that can be controlled by the user through harnessing their brain signals. Extensive research has been undertaken within a laboratory setting with healthy users to illustrate the usability of such systems. To bring these systems to users with severe disabilities it is necessary to develop simple, easy to use systems that can be operated by non-experts outside of the lab and are evaluated by real end users preferably through a user centered design approach. This paper presents a user centered evaluation of a P300 BCI operated by non-expert users in a rehabilitation center with a control group of five healthy participants without acquired brain injury (ABI) and five end users with ABI. Each participant aimed to complete the 30-step protocol three separate times and rate his or her satisfaction from 0 to 10 on the Visual Analogue Scale after each session. Participants then rated their satisfaction with the BCI on the extended QUEST 2.0 and a customized usability questionnaire. The results indicated that end-users were able to achieve an average accuracy of 55% compared to the control group that reported an average of 78%. The findings indicated that participants were satisfied with the BCI but felt frustrated when it did not respond to their commands. This work was phase one of three to move the BCI system into end users homes. Key recommendations for advancing the P300 BCI towards an easy to use, home-based system were identified, including reducing the complexity of the setup, ensuring the system becomes more responsive and increasing the overall functionality. DOI: 10.17762/ijritcc2321-8169.15016