Family Unity, Family Health: How Family-Focused Immigration Reform Will Mean Better Health for Children and Families

This report builds on a body of evidence on the impact of immigration policy on communities, paying particular attention to the health and mental health of children and families.Using existing research, predictive quantitative analysis and data from a convenience survey and two focus groups, this reportshines a light on the consequences of a continued policy of detention and deportation on: physical health, mental health, educational and behavioral outcomes among children; adult health status and lifespan; and economic hardship and food access in households

The Effect of Drag from the Galactic Hot Halo on the Magellanic Stream and Leading Arm

We study the effect of drag induced by the Galactic hot halo on the two neutral hydrogen (HI) cloud complexes associated with the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds: the Magellanic Stream (MS) and the Leading Arm (LA). In particular, we adopt the numerical models of previous studies and re-simulate the tidal formation of the MS and LA with the inclusion of a drag term. We find that the drag has three effects which, although model-dependent, may bring the tidal formation scenario into better agreement with observations: correcting the LA kinematics, reproducing the MS column density gradient, and enhancing the formation of MS bifurcation. We furthermore propose a two-stage mechanism by which the bifurcation forms. In general, the inclusion of drag has a variety of both positive and negative effects on the global properties of the MS and LA, including their on-sky positions, kinematics, radial distances, and column densities. We also provide an argument which suggests that ram pressure stripping and tidal stripping are mutually exclusive candidates for the formation of the MS and LA.Comment: 13 pages, 10 figures, 1 table. Accepted for publication in PAS

The relationship between peak power and leg size in mountain bike cyclists

The relationship between peak power and leg size in mountain bike cyclist

Assessment of a Microsoft Kinect-based 3D scanning system for taking body segment girth measurements : a comparison to ISAK and ISO standards

Use of anthropometric data to infer sporting performance is increasing in popularity, particularly within elite sport programmes. Measurement typically follows standards set by the International Society for the Advancement of Kinanthropometry (ISAK). However, such techniques are time consuming, which reduces their practicality. Schranz et al. recently suggested 3D body scanners could replace current measurement techniques; however, current systems are costly. Recent interest in natural user interaction has led to a range of low-cost depth cameras capable of producing 3D body scans, from which anthropometrics can be calculated. A scanning system comprising 4 depth cameras was used to scan 4 cylinders, representative of the body segments. Girth measurements were calculated from the 3D scans and compared to gold standard measurements. Requirements of a Level 1 ISAK practitioner were met in all 4 cylinders, and ISO standards for scan-derived girth measurements were met in the 2 larger cylinders only. A fixed measurement bias was identified that could be corrected with a simple offset factor. Further work is required to determine comparable performance across a wider range of measurements performed upon living participants. Nevertheless, findings of the study suggest such a system offers many advantages over current techniques, having a range of potential application

Using a wireless consumer accelerometer to measure tibial acceleration during running : agreement with a skin mounted sensor

Real-time monitoring and feedback of tibial acceleration using wireless skin mounted sensors may reduce the risk of tibial stress fractures in runners. The purpose of this study was to assess the agreement between a wireless accelerometer and a gold standard reference accelerometer, both skin mounted, in measuring peak axial tibial acceleration when treadmill running at a range of speeds. A research grade accelerometer was mounted to a wireless accelerometer and attached to the tibia. Peak positive tibial accelerations of 13 participants were compared at 2.5 m.s-1, 3.5 m.s-1 and 4.5 m.s-1. Intraclass correlation coefficients demonstrated good agreement, with limits of agreement showing accuracy to within 1.2 – 1.65 g. The wireless accelerometer has scope to be used as a tool to measure peak tibial accelerations during running for the purpose of real-time feedback in gait training systems

Validity and repeatability of a depth camera based surface imaging system for thigh volume measurement

Complex anthropometric measures, such as area and volume, can identify changes in body size and shape that are not detectable with traditional anthropometric measures of lengths, breadths, skinfolds and girths. However, taking these more complex measures with manual techniques (tape measurement and water displacement) is often unsuitable. Three dimensional (3D) surface imaging systems are quick and accurate alternatives to manual techniques but their use is restricted by cost, complexity and limited access. We have developed a novel low cost, accessible and portable 3D surface imaging system based on consumer depth cameras. The aim of this study was to determine the validity and repeatability of the system in the measurement of thigh volume. The thigh volumes of 36 participants were measured with the depth camera system and a high precision commercially available 3D surface imaging system (3dMD). The depth camera system used within this study is highly repeatable (technical error of measurement of < 1.0% intra-calibration and ~ 2.0% inter-calibration) but systematically overestimates (~6%) thigh volume when compared to the 3dMD system. This suggests poor agreement yet a close relationship, which once corrected can yield a usable thigh volume measurement. Keywords : Kinanthropometry, Anthropometry, Depth Camera, 3D Body Scanning, Surface Imaging

Virtualization for a Network Processor Runtime System

The continuing ossification of the Internet is slowing the pace of network innovation. Network diversification presents one solution to this problem, by virtualizing the network at multiple layers. Diversified networks consist of a shared physical substrate, virtual routers (metarouters), and virtual links (metalinks). Virtualizing routers enables smooth and incremental upgrades to new network services. Our current priority for a diversified router prototype is to enable reserved slices of the network for researchers to perform repeatable, high-speed network experiments. General-purpose processors have well established techniques for virtualization, but do not scale efficiently to multi-gigabit speeds. To achieve these speeds, we employ network processors (NPs), typically consisting of multicore, multi-threaded processors with asymmetric, heterogeneous memories. The complexity and lack of hardware thread isolation in NP’s, combined with a lack of simple programming models, creates numerous challenges for effective sharing between metarouters. In this paper, we detail strategies for enabling NP virtualization at the link, memory, and processor levels, to better enable a research infrastructure for network innovation

The use of biofeedback for gait retraining: A mapping review

Background: Biofeedback seems to be a promising tool to improve gait outcomes for both healthy individuals and patient groups. However, due to differences in study designs and outcome measurements, it remains uncertain how different forms of feedback affect gait outcomes. Therefore, the aim of this study is to review primary biomechanical literature which has used biofeedback to alter gait-related outcomes in human participants. Methods: Medline, Cinahl, Cochrane, SPORTDiscus and Pubmed were searched from inception to December 2017 using various keywords and the following MeSHterms: biofeedback, feedback, gait, walking and running. From the included studies, sixteen different study characteristics were extracted. Findings: In this mapping review 173 studies were included. The most common feedback mode used was visual feedback (42%, n=73) and the majority fed-back kinematic parameters (36%, n=62). The design of the studies were poor: only 8% (n=13) of the studies had both a control group and a retention test; 69% (n=120) of the studies had neither. A retention test after 6 months was performed in 3% (n=5) of the studies, feedback was faded in 9% (n=15) and feedback was given in the field rather than the laboratory in 4% (n=8) of the studies. Interpretation: Further work on biofeedback and gait should focus on the direct comparison between different modes of feedback or feedback parameters, along with better designed and field based studies

Assessing the suitability of the Microsoft Kinect for calculating person specific body segment parameters

Many biomechanical and medical analyses rely on the availability of reliable body segment parameter estimates. Current techniques typically take many manual measurements of the human body, in conjunction with geometric models or regression equations. However, such techniques are often criticised. 3D scanning offers many advantages, but current systems are prohibitively complex and costly. The recent interest in natural user interaction (NUI) has led to the development of low cost (-£200) sensors capable of 3D body scanning, however, there has been little consideration of their validity. A scanning system comprising four Microsoft Kinect sensors (a typical NUI sensor) was used to scan twelve living male participants three times. Volume estimates from the system were compared to those from a geometric modelling technique. Results demonstrated high reliability (ICC >0.7, TEM <1%) and presence of a systematic measurement offset (0.001m3) suggesting the system would be well received by healthcare and sports communities