Identifying Sources of Children’s Consumption of Junk Food in Boston After-School Programs, April–May 2011

Introduction: Little is known about how the nutrition environment in after-school settings may affect children’s dietary intake. We measured the nutritional quality of after-school snacks provided by programs participating in the National School Lunch Program or the Child and Adult Care Food Program and compared them with snacks brought from home or purchased elsewhere (nonprogram snacks). We quantified the effect of nonprogram snacks on the dietary intake of children who also received program-provided snacks during after-school time. Our study objective was to determine how different sources of snacks affect children’s snack consumption in after-school settings. Methods: We recorded snacks served to and brought in by 298 children in 18 after-school programs in Boston, Massachusetts, on 5 program days in April and May 2011. We measured children’s snack consumption on 2 program days using a validated observation protocol. We then calculated within-child change-in-change models to estimate the effect of nonprogram snacks on children’s dietary intake after school. Results: Nonprogram snacks contained more sugary beverages and candy than program-provided snacks. Having a nonprogram snack was associated with significantly higher consumption of total calories (+114.7 kcal, P < .001), sugar-sweetened beverages (+0.5 oz, P = .01), desserts (+0.3 servings, P < .001), and foods with added sugars (+0.5 servings; P < .001) during the snack period. Conclusion: On days when children brought their own after-school snack, they consumed more salty and sugary foods and nearly twice as many calories than on days when they consumed only program-provided snacks. Policy strategies limiting nonprogram snacks or setting nutritional standards for them in after-school settings should be explored further as a way to promote child health

Validity of a practitioner-administered observational tool to measure physical activity, nutrition, and screen time in school-age programs

Background: Nutrition and physical activity interventions have been effective in creating environmental changes in afterschool programs. However, accurate assessment can be time-consuming and expensive as initiatives are scaled up for optimal population impact. This study aims to determine the criterion validity of a simple, low-cost, practitioner-administered observational measure of afterschool physical activity, nutrition, and screen time practices and child behaviors. Methods: Directors from 35 programs in three cities completed the Out-of-School Nutrition and Physical Activity Observational Practice Assessment Tool (OSNAP-OPAT) on five days. Trained observers recorded snacks served and obtained accelerometer data each day during the same week. Observations of physical activity participation and snack consumption were conducted on two days. Correlations were calculated to validate weekly average estimates from OSNAP-OPAT compared to criterion measures. Weekly criterion averages are based on 175 meals served, snack consumption of 528 children, and physical activity levels of 356 children. Results: OSNAP-OPAT validly assessed serving water (r = 0.73), fruits and vegetables (r = 0.84), juice >4oz (r = 0.56), and grains (r = 0.60) at snack; sugary drinks (r = 0.70) and foods (r = 0.68) from outside the program; and children’s water consumption (r = 0.56) (all p <0.05). Reports of physical activity time offered were correlated with accelerometer estimates (minutes of moderate and vigorous physical activity r = 0.59, p = 0.02; vigorous physical activity r = 0.63, p = 0.01). The reported proportion of children participating in moderate and vigorous physical activity was correlated with observations (r = 0.48, p = 0.03), as were reports of computer (r = 0.85) and TV/movie (r = 0.68) time compared to direct observations (both p < 0.01). Conclusions: OSNAP-OPAT can assist researchers and practitioners in validly assessing nutrition and physical activity environments and behaviors in afterschool settings. Trial registration Phase 1 of this measure validation was conducted during a study registered at clinicaltrials.gov NCT01396473. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12966-014-0145-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

A protocol for the development of Core Outcome Sets for effectiveness trials and clinical audits in Renal Cell Cancer (R-COS)

The data collection for the interview study is funded by NHS Grampian Endowments, and the costs of the interview transcriptions and eDelphi licences will be paid by the Arcobaleno Cancer Trust. Neither funder had any role in the design of the study. All other parts of the study are currently unfunded. The research team is not personally reimbursed for their time and efforts apart from research input by SD, which is financed by Swedish government funding of clinical research (ALF).Peer reviewedPublisher PD

US States’ Childhood Obesity Surveillance Practices and Recommendations for Improving Them, 2014–2015

Introduction: Routine collection, analysis, and reporting of data on child height, weight, and body mass index (BMI), particularly at the state and local levels, are needed to monitor the childhood obesity epidemic, plan intervention strategies, and evaluate the impact of interventions. Child BMI surveillance systems operated by the US government do not provide state or local data on children across a range of ages. The objective of this study was to describe the extent to which state governments conduct child BMI surveillance. Methods: From August through December 2014, we conducted a structured telephone survey with state government administrators to learn about state surveillance of child BMI. We also searched websites of state health and education agencies for information about state surveillance. Results: State agency administrators in 48 states and Washington, DC, completed telephone interviews (96% response rate). Based on our interviews and Internet research, we determined that 14 states collect child BMI data in a manner consistent with standard definitions of public health surveillance. Conclusion: The absence of child BMI surveillance systems in most states limits the ability of public health practitioners and policymakers to develop and evaluate responses to the childhood obesity epidemic. Greater investment in surveillance is needed to identify the most effective and cost-effective childhood obesity interventions

Performance of On-Line Learning Methods in Predicting Multiprocessor Memory Access Patterns

Shared memory multiprocessors require reconfigurable interconnection networks (INs) for scalability. These INs are reconfigured by an IN control unit. However, these INs are often plagued by undesirable reconfiguration time that is primarily due to control latency, the amount of time delay that the control unit takes to decide on a desired new IN configuration. To reduce control latency, a trainable prediction unit (PU) was devised and added to the IN controller. The PU's job is to anticipate and reduce control configuration time, the major component of the control latency. Three different on-line prediction techniques were tested to learn and predict repetitive memory access patterns for three typical parallel processing applications, the 2-D relaxation algorithm, matrix multiply and Fast Fourier Transform. The predictions were then used by a routing control algorithm to reduce control latency by configuring the IN to provide needed memory access paths before they were requested. Three prediction techniques were used and tested: 1). a Markov predictor, 2). a linear predictor and 3). a time delay neural network (TDNN) predictor. As expected, different predictors performed best on different applications, however, the TDNN produced the best overall results. (Also cross-referenced as UMIACS-TR-96-59

The need for core outcome sets in renal cancer clinical effectiveness research

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Three-Year Trajectory of Teachers’ Fidelity to a Drug Prevention Curriculum

Little is known about the trajectories over time of classroom teachers’ fidelity to drug prevention curricula. Using the “Concerns-Based Adoption Model” (C-BAM) as a theoretical framework, we hypothesized that teachers’ fidelity would improve with repetition. Participants comprised 23 middle school teachers who videotaped their administration of three entire iterations of the All Stars curriculum. Investigators coded two key curriculum lessons, specifically assessing the proportion of activities of each lesson teachers attempted and whether they omitted, added, or changed prescribed content, or delivered it using new methods. Study findings provided only partial support for the C-BAM model. Considerable variability in teachers’ performance over time was noted, suggesting that their progression over time may be nonlinear and dynamic, and quite possibly a function of their classroom and school contexts. There was also evidence that, by their third iteration of All Stars, teachers tended to regress toward the baseline mean. That is, the implementation quality of those that started out with high levels of fidelity tended to degrade, while those that started out with very low fidelity to the curriculum tended to improve. Study findings suggest the need for ongoing training and technical assistance, as well as “just in time” messages delivered electronically; but it is also possible that some prevention curricula may impose unrealistic expectations or burdens on teachers’ abilities and classroom time

Enhanced C2_2H2_2 absorption within Jupiter's southern auroral oval from Juno UVS observations

Reflected sunlight observations from the Ultraviolet Spectrograph (UVS) on the Juno spacecraft were used to study the distribution of acetylene (C$_2$H$_2$) at Jupiter's south pole. We find that the shape of the C$_2$H$_2$ absorption feature varies significantly across the polar region, and this can be used to infer spatial variability in the C$_2$H$_2$ abundance. There is a localized region of enhanced C$_2$H$_2$ absorption which coincides with the location of Jupiter's southern polar aurora; the C$_2$H$_2$ abundance poleward of the auroral oval is a factor of 3 higher than adjacent quiescent, non-auroral longitudes. This builds on previous infrared studies which found enhanced C$_2$H$_2$ abundances within the northern auroral oval. This suggests that Jupiter's upper-atmosphere chemistry is being strongly influenced by the influx of charged auroral particles and demonstrates the necessity of developing ion-neutral photochemical models of Jupiter's polar regions.Comment: Accepted in JGR: Planet

The balloon-borne large-aperture submillimeter telescope for polarimetry: BLAST-Pol

The Balloon-borne Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope for Polarimetry (BLAST-Pol) is a suborbital mapping experiment designed to study the role played by magnetic fields in the star formation process. BLAST-Pol is the reconstructed BLAST telescope, with the addition of linear polarization capability. Using a 1.8 m Cassegrain telescope, BLAST-Pol images the sky onto a focal plane that consists of 280 bolometric detectors in three arrays, observing simultaneously at 250, 350, and 500 um. The diffraction-limited optical system provides a resolution of 30'' at 250 um. The polarimeter consists of photolithographic polarizing grids mounted in front of each bolometer/detector array. A rotating 4 K achromatic half-wave plate provides additional polarization modulation. With its unprecedented mapping speed and resolution, BLAST-Pol will produce three-color polarization maps for a large number of molecular clouds. The instrument provides a much needed bridge in spatial coverage between larger-scale, coarse resolution surveys and narrow field of view, and high resolution observations of substructure within molecular cloud cores. The first science flight will be from McMurdo Station, Antarctica in December 2010.Comment: 14 pages, 9 figures Submitted to SPIE Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation Conference 201

Possible Transient Luminous Events observed in Jupiter's upper atmosphere

11 transient bright flashes were detected in Jupiter's atmosphere using the UVS instrument on the Juno spacecraft. These bright flashes are only observed in a single spin of the spacecraft and their brightness decays exponentially with time, with a duration of ~1.4 ms. The spectra are dominated by H2 Lyman band emission and based on the level of atmospheric absorption, we estimate a source altitude of 260 km above the 1-bar level. Based on these characteristics, we suggest that these are observations of Transient Luminous Events (TLEs) in Jupiter's upper atmosphere. In particular, we suggest that these are elves, sprites or sprite halos, three types of TLEs that occur in the Earth's upper atmosphere in response to tropospheric lightning strikes. This is supported by visible light imaging, which shows cloud features typical of lightning source regions at the locations of several of the bright flashes. TLEs have previously only been observed on Earth, although theoretical and experimental work has predicted that they should also be present on Jupiter.Comment: Accepted in JGR: Planets. 28 pages, 8 figure