Spare the rod, spoil the child? : A literature review of outcomes of physical punishment in relation to recent changes to Maltese Law

A literature review of outcomes of physical punishment in children confirms the polarised views resulting from various studies. This is mainly attributed to the limitations in the methodology and study designs used, confounding factors that were unaccounted for and the different ways in which physical punishment was defined by researchers. Researchers that provide evidence to discourage the use of physical punishment highlight the risk that this mode of discipline can easily cross over to physical abuse. This is challenged by other researchers who argue that alternative disciplinary techniques investigated with similar analyses to physical punishment have similar outcomes. Malta recently became one of the 39 countries worldwide that outlawed the use of physical punishment in children, in keeping with the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child. The focus of legally banning the use of physical punishment is not to increase the number of parental prosecutions but to safeguard children and adopt a policy of zero tolerance towards any violence against them. Our role as health professionals should be in supporting and educating parents, including those from a different cultural background, in becoming authoritative parents that are able to discipline their children in an effective and nurturing manner, away from using any form of violence. Successful evidence based parental intervention programmes exist that may help provide these necessary skills. Health professionals should also adopt a child centred approach whereby the child’s views are considered and any allegation made taken seriously. Training in safeguarding children is recommended for all professionals who come into contact with children and families.peer-reviewe

Validity of a pictorial perceived exertion scale for effort estimation and effort production during stepping exercise in adolescent children

This is the author's PDF version of an article published in European Physical Education Review ©2002. The definitive version is available at http://epe.sagepub.com.Recent developments in the study of paediatric effort perception have continued to emphasise the importance of child-specific rating scales. The purpose of this study was to examine the validity of an illustrated 1 – 10 perceived exertion scale; the Pictorial Children’s Effort Rating Table (PCERT). 4 class groups comprising 104 children; 27 boys and 29 girls, aged 12.1±0.3 years and 26 boys, 22 girls, aged 15.3±0.2 years were selected from two schools and participated in the initial development of the PCERT. Subsequently, 48 of these children, 12 boys and 12 girls from each age group were randomly selected to participate in the PCERT validation study. Exercise trials were divided into 2 phases and took place 7 to 10 days apart. During phase 1, children completed 5 x 3-minute incremental stepping exercise bouts interspersed with 2-minute recovery periods. Heart rate (HR) and ratings of exertion were recorded during the final 15 s of each exercise bout. In phase 2 the children were asked to regulate their exercising effort during 4 x 4-minute bouts of stepping so that it matched randomly prescribed PCERT levels (3, 5, 7 and 9). Analysis of data from Phase 1 yielded significant (P<0.01) relationships between perceived and objective (HR) effort measures for girls. In addition, the main effects of exercise intensity on perceived exertion and HR were significant (P<0.01); perceived exertion increased as exercise intensity increased and this was reflected in simultaneous significant rises in HR. During phase 2, HR and estimated power output (POapprox) produced at each of the four prescribed effort levels were significantly different (P<0.01). The children in this study were able to discriminate between 4 different exercise intensities and regulate their exercise intensity according to 4 prescribed levels of perceived exertion. In seeking to contribute towards children’s recommended physical activity levels and helping them understand how to self-regulate their activity, the application of the PCERT within the context of physical education is a desirable direction for future research

Healthy Kids & Families: Overcoming Social, Environmental and Family Barriers to Childhood Obesity Prevention

Healthy Kids & Families, the applied research project of the UMass Worcester Prevention Research Center, is testing the impact of a community health worker (CHW)-delivered intervention aimed at helping families overcome barriers to childhood obesity prevention. The intervention addresses social, environmental, and family issues that may pose as barriers to healthy choices. The intervention is compared to a comparison condition consisting of a CHW-delivered intervention aimed at helping families improve positive parenting skills. The intervention and comparison condition are identical in format, Both use multiple delivery modalities to maintain novelty and prevent attrition/burden. These include home visits, telephone contacts, print (literacy sensitive newsletters), social media (Facebook), and community events. Parents and children will complete scheduled assessments at baseline, 6-, 12-, 18- and 24-month follow-up. Study participants are 240 parent-child dyads recruited from nine elementary schools. Inclusion criteria include: adult and their K-6th grade children attending a participating school, have access to a telephone, speak English or Spanish, and plan to live in the neighborhood for at least two years. Exclusion criteria include medical condition or advice from a doctor that precludes the child from walking or eating fruits and vegetables. Healthy Kids & Families is being implemented in racial/ethnically diverse underserved communities in Worcester, Massachusetts. Funded by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it involves a partnership between UMass Worcester Prevention Research Center of UMass Medical School, the Worcester Public Schools, and Oak Hill Community Development Corporation

Healthy Kids & Families: Overcoming Social, Environmental and Family Barriers to Childhood Obesity

Healthy Kids & Families, the applied research project of the UMass Worcester Prevention Research Center, is testing the impact of a community health worker (CHW)-delivered intervention aimed at helping families overcome barriers to childhood obesity prevention. The intervention addresses social, environmental, and family issues that may pose as barriers to healthy choices. The intervention is compared to a comparison condition consisting of a CHW-delivered intervention aimed at helping families improve positive parenting skills. The intervention and comparison condition are identical in format, Both use multiple delivery modalities to maintain novelty and prevent attrition/burden. These include home visits, telephone contacts, print (literacy sensitive newsletters), social media (Facebook), and community events. Parents and children will complete scheduled assessments at baseline, 6-, 12-, 18- and 24-month follow-up. Study participants are 240 parent-child dyads recruited from nine elementary schools. Inclusion criteria include: adult and their K-6th grade children attending a participating school, have access to a telephone, speak English or Spanish, and plan to live in the neighborhood for at least two years. Exclusion criteria include medical condition or advice from a doctor that precludes the child from walking or eating fruits and vegetables. Healthy Kids & Families is being implemented in racial/ethnically diverse underserved communities in Worcester, Massachusetts. Funded by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it involves a partnership between UMass Worcester Prevention Research Center of UMass Medical School, the Worcester Public Schools, and Oak Hill Community Development Corporation

Self-Assembly of Semiconductor Nanoplatelets into Stacks Directly in Aqueous Solution

Since their discovery, cadmium chalcogenide nanoplatelets (NPLs) gained a lot of interest, not only due to their beneficial characteristic, but also because of their high affinity to self-assemble into ordered stacks. Interestingly, the stacks showed both the properties of the single NPLs and new collective features, such as charge carrier transport within the stacks. Until now, the stacking was, to the best of the knowledge, only performed in non-polar media mostly through the addition of antisolvents with higher polarity. Due to the fact, that many applications (e.g., photocatalysis) or procedures (such as gelation) occur in water, a route to self-assemble stacks directly in aqueous solution is needed. In this work a new synthesis route is thus introduced to produce stacks directly in aqueous media. The NPLs are phase transferred with mercaptocarboxylic acids to an aqueous KOH solution followed by an addition of less polar antisolvents to initialize the stacking (e.g., tetrahydrofuran). Furthermore, a mechanism of the stacking as well as four possible driving forces involved in the process are proposed supported by transmission electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering, infrared spectroscopy, and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements

A comparative in vitro study of the anticoagulant effect of branded versus generic rivaroxaban

Background: Several generic formulations of rivaroxaban were recently marketed to be used interchangeably with their branded equivalent. However, there have been no previously published studies that directly compared the in vitro anticoagulant effect of branded vs. generic rivaroxaban. The aim of this in vitro study was to compare the effects of three raw rivaroxaban materials, obtained from the branded (Xarelto®) and two generic (Rivarolto® and Rivaroxaban Sandoz®) rivaroxaban formulations on an array of coagulation assays. Methods: A pool of normal plasma was spiked with several concentrations of the three rivaroxaban (range 50–750 ng/ml). The concentrations were assessed with a rivaroxaban calibrated anti-Xa assay and confirmed by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS). The following assays were performed: Prothrombin time (PT), activated Partial Thromboplastin time (aPTT), Diluted Russell's Viper Venom Test (dRVVT), Thrombin time (TT), Clauss Fibrinogen, Factor VII, VIII and IX assays, and thromboelastography. Results: The results obtained by the three rivaroxaban at similar concentrations were comparable. Increasing concentrations of the three rivaroxaban showed a strong positive correlation with the PT, aPTT and dRVVT assays (r > 0.95, p < 0.01 for all), and a strong negative correlation with the Factors assays (r < 0.95, p < 0.01 for all). TT and Clauss Fibrinogen were not affected by rivaroxaban. No significant difference was identified in the mean assays' results obtained by the three rivaroxaban. Conclusion: This study showed that the branded and generic rivaroxaban exert an identical in vitro anticoagulant effect across a wide range of concentrations.peer-reviewe

‘Priming’ exercise and O2 uptake kinetics during treadmill running

We tested the hypothesis that priming exercise would speed kinetics during treadmill running. Eight subjects completed a square-wave protocol, involving two bouts of treadmill running at 70% of the difference between the running speeds at lactate threshold (LT) and max, separated by 6-min of walking at 4 km h−1, on two occasions. Oxygen uptake was measured breath-by-breath and subsequently modelled using non-linear regression techniques. Heart rate and blood lactate concentration were significantly elevated prior to the second exercise bout compared to the first. However, kinetics was not significantly different between the first and second exercise bouts (mean ± S.D., phase II time constant, Bout 1: 16 ± 3 s vs. Bout 2: 16 ± 4 s; slow component amplitude, Bout 1: 0.24 ± 0.10 L min−1vs. Bout 2: 0.20 ± 0.12 L min−1; mean response time, Bout 1: 34 ± 4 s vs. Bout 2: 34 ± 6 s; P > 0.05 for all comparisons). These results indicate that, contrary to previous findings with other exercise modalities, priming exercise does not alter kinetics during high-intensity treadmill running, at least in physically active young subjects. We speculate that the relatively fast kinetics and the relatively small slow component in the control (‘un-primed’) condition negated any enhancement of kinetics by priming exercise in this exercise modality