Calibration and Cross-Validation of Accelerometery for Estimating Movement Skills in Children Aged 8-12 Years

This study sought to calibrate triaxial accelerometery, worn on both wrists, waist and both ankles, during children’s physical activity (PA), with particular attention to object control motor skills performed at a fast and slow cadence, and to cross-validate the accelerometer cut-points derived from the calibration using an independent dataset. Twenty boys (10.1 ±1.5 years) undertook seven, five-minute bouts of activity lying supine, standing, running (4.5kmph−1) instep passing a football (fast and slow cadence), dribbling a football (fast and slow cadence), whilst wearing five GENEActiv accelerometers on their non-dominant and dominant wrists and ankles and waist. VO2 was assessed concurrently using indirect calorimetry. ROC curve analysis was used to generate cut-points representing sedentary, light and moderate PA. The cut-points were then cross-validated using independent data from 30 children (9.4 ± 1.4 years), who had undertaken similar activities whilst wearing accelerometers and being assessed for VO2. GENEActiv monitors were able to discriminate sedentary activity to an excellent level irrespective of wear location. For moderate PA, discrimination of activity was considered good for monitors placed on the dominant wrist, waist, non-dominant and dominant ankles but fair for the non-dominant wrist. Applying the cut-points to the cross-validation sample indicated that cut-points validated in the calibration were able to successfully discriminate sedentary behaviour and moderate PA to an excellent standard and light PA to a fair standard. Cut-points derived from this calibration demonstrate an excellent ability to discriminate children’s sedentary behaviour and moderate intensity PA comprising motor skill activity.N/

An ultrasonic metallic Fabry–Pérot metamaterial for use in water

Fabry-Pérot ultrasonic metamaterials have been additively manufactured using laser powder bed fusion to contain subwavelength holes with a high aspect-ratio of width to depth. Such metamaterials require the acoustic impedance mismatch between the structure and the immersion medium to be large. It is shown for the first time that metallic structures fulfil this criterion for applications in water over the 200–800 kHz frequency range. It is also demonstrated that laser powder bed fusion is a flexible fabrication method for the ceration of structures with different thicknesses, hole geometry and tapered openings, allowing the acoustic properties to be modified. It was confirmed via both finite element simulation and practical measurements that these structures supported Fabry-Pérot resonances, needed for metamaterial operation, at ultrasonic frequencies in water. It was also demonstrated the the additively-manufactured structures detected the presence of a sub-wavelength slit aperture in water

Run, Jump, Throw and Catch: How proficient are children attending English schools at the Fundamental Motor Skills identified as key within the school curriculum?

This study examined proficiency levels in fundamental motor skills (FMS) in children within Key Stage 1 and 2 of the English school system. Four hundred and ninety-two children aged 6–9 Years old (245 boys, 247 girls) from school Years Two (n = 130), Three (n = 154) and Four (n = 208) participated in this study. FMS for the run, jump, throw and catch were assessed using the Test of Gross Motor Development – 2. The proportion of children who achieved mastery or near mastery of the skills was determined. For the whole sample, 18.5% (n = 91) did not achieve mastery in any of the four skills. A similar proportion (18.7%, n = 92) achieved mastery in all four of the FMS examined in this study. The proportion of children achieving mastery of all four skills was lower for Year Two children (0%) compared to children in years Three (24%) and Four (25%). More boys (25.7%) achieved mastery in all four of the FMS compared to girls (11.7%). Individual behavioural components in skill performance were also examined. The results of the present study highlight that less than one-fifth of children aged 6–9 years old have mastered the four key FMS identified by the physical education (PE) curriculum despite having the developmental potential to become fundamentally competent by six years of age. Fostering positive trajectories of FMS development presents a challenge for PE specialists given the association between FMS mastery in childhood and physical activity, weight status and health.N/

Hemigrapsus takanoi Asakura and Watanabe, 2005 (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura: Grapsoidea): first records of the brush-clawed shore crab from Great Britain

The brush-clawed shore crab is reported from the River Medway, Kent and the River Colne, Essex, England. These represent the first records of Hemigrapsus takanoi Asakura and Watanabe, 2005 from Great Britain. If H. takanoi becomes established in GB, it may pose a threat to populations of the native shore crab Carcinus maenas

Sulforaphane represses matrix-degrading proteases and protects cartilage from destruction in vitro and in vivo:Sulforaphane is protective in the articular Joint

Sulforaphane (SFN) has been reported to regulate signaling pathways relevant to chronic diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of SFN treatment on signaling pathways in chondrocytes and to determine whether sulforaphane could block cartilage destruction in osteoarthritis

A new integrated care pathway for ambulance attended severe hypoglycaemia in the East of England: The Eastern Academic Health Science Network (EAHSN) model

Aims: We developed a new clinical integrated pathway linking a regional Ambulance Trust with a severe hypoglycaemia (SH) prevention team. We present clinical data from the first 2,000 emergency calls taken through this new clinical pathway in the East of England. Methods: SH patients attended by Ambulance crew receive written information on SH avoidance, and are contacted for further education through a new regional SH prevention team. All patients are contacted unless they actively decline. Results: Median age (IQR) was 67 (50 - 80) years, 23.6% of calls were for patients over 80 years old, and patients more than 90 years old were more common than 20 - 25 year olds in this population. Most calls were for patients (84.9%) who were insulin treated, even those over 80 years (75%). One - third of patients attended after a call were unconscious on attendance. 5.6% of patients in this call population had 3 or more ambulance call outs, and they generated 17.6% of all calls. In total, 728 episodes (36.4%) were repeat calls. Insulin related events were clinically more severe than oral hypoglycaemic related events. Patients conveyed to hospitals (13.8%) were significantly older, with poorer recovery in biochemical hypoglycaemia after ambulance crew attendance. Only 19 (1%) opted out of further contact. Patients were contacted by the SH prevention team after a median 3 (0 - 6) days. The most common patient self - reported cause for their SH episode was related to percieved errors in insulin management (31.4%). Conclusions: This new clinical service is simple, acceptable to patients, and a translatable model for prevention of recurrent SH in this largely elderly insulin treated SH population

Changing times in England: the influence on geography teachers’ professional practice

School geography in England has been characterised as a pendulum swinging between policies that emphasise curriculum and pedagogy alternately. In this paper, I illustrate the influence of these shifts on geography teacher's professional practice, by drawing on three “moments” from my experience as a student, teacher and teacher educator. Barnett's description of teacher professionalism as a continuous project of “being” illuminates how geography teachers can adapt to competing influences. It reflects teacher professionalism as an unfinished project, which is responsive, but not beholden, to shifting trends, and is informed by how teachers frame and enact policies. I argue that recognising these contextual factors is key to supporting geography teachers in “being” geography education professionals. As education becomes increasingly competitive on a global scale, individual governments are looking internationally for “solutions” to improve educational rankings. In this climate, the future of geography education will rest on how teachers react locally to international trends. Geography teacher educators can support this process by continuing to inform the field through meaningful geography education research, in particular in making the contextual factors of their research explicit. This can be supported through continued successful international collaboration in geography education research

Community-based pre-pregnancy care programme improves pregnancy preparation in women with pregestational diabetes.

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: Women with diabetes remain at increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes associated with poor pregnancy preparation. However, women with type 2 diabetes are less aware of and less likely to access pre-pregnancy care (PPC) compared with women with type 1 diabetes. We developed and evaluated a community-based PPC programme with the aim of improving pregnancy preparation in all women with pregestational diabetes. METHODS: This was a prospective cohort study comparing pregnancy preparation measures before and during/after the PPC intervention in women with pre-existing diabetes from 1 June 2013 to 28 February 2017. The setting was 422 primary care practices and ten National Health Service specialist antenatal diabetes clinics. A multifaceted approach was taken to engage women with diabetes and community healthcare teams. This included identifying and sending PPC information leaflets to all eligible women, electronic preconception care templates, online education modules and resources, and regional meetings and educational events. Key outcomes were preconception folic acid supplementation, maternal HbA1c level, use of potentially harmful medications at conception and gestational age at first presentation, before and during/after the PPC programme. RESULTS: A total of 306 (73%) primary care practices actively participated in the PPC programme. Primary care databases were used to identify 5075 women with diabetes aged 18-45 years. PPC leaflets were provided to 4558 (89.8%) eligible women. There were 842 consecutive pregnancies in women with diabetes: 502 before and 340 during/after the PPC intervention. During/after the PPC intervention, pregnant women with type 2 diabetes were more likely to achieve target HbA1c levels ≤48 mmol/mol (6.5%) (44.4% of women before vs 58.5% of women during/after PPC intervention; p = 0.016) and to take 5 mg folic acid daily (23.5% and 41.8%; p = 0.001). There was an almost threefold improvement in 'optimal' pregnancy preparation in women with type 2 diabetes (5.8% and 15.1%; p = 0.021). Women with type 1 diabetes presented for earlier antenatal care during/after PPC (54.0% vs 67.3% before 8 weeks' gestation; p = 0.003) with no other changes. CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: A pragmatic community-based PPC programme was associated with clinically relevant improvements in pregnancy preparation in women with type 2 diabetes. To our knowledge, this is the first community-based PPC intervention to improve pregnancy preparation for women with type 2 diabetes. DATA AVAILABILITY: Further details of the data collection methodology, individual clinic data and the full audit reports for healthcare professionals and service users are available from https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/clinical-audits-and-registries/our-clinical-audits-and-registries/national-pregnancy-in-diabetes-audit