Food Deserts and Pediatric Oral Health Status in an Under-Resourced Urban Community

Purpose: The aim of this analysis of survey data was to assess the influence of living within a food desert as a predictor of oral health problems among children of East Henrico County, Virginia. Methods: Survey participants were recruited and questionnaires applied online. Residing in a food desert, using access to affordable produce as a proxy value, was the independent variable, while self- reported assessment of the child’s oral health status was the primary outcome variable. Analyses controlled for other indirect factors of pediatric oral health. Logistic regression was used to model the association between the self-reported access to healthy fruits and vegetables and history of dental pain for the child. Results: A significant association between a child experiencing recent dental pain and: a child having a dental visit within the last 12 months; the child’s ethnicity; and the guardian’s education level. An association approaching statistical significance was identified between access to affordable produce and experiencing dental pain (p-value=.0504). At the community level, those that lived in food deserts had 2.22 times increased odds of reporting dental pain for a child than those considered to not live in food deserts. Conclusion: A moderate association was found between access to affordable produce and experiencing dental pain. Additional randomized, population-based studies would be beneficial to improve our understanding of this association

KNEE TORQUE KINETICS DURING HIGHLAND DANCING

The purpose of the study is to measure torque variations in the knees of malaligned Highland dancers during the early and late stages of a six step Highland Fling. A secondary objective is to measure variations in knee malalignment at impact, maximum flexion and extension. The most frequently occurring injuries in dance involve the knee (Arnheim, 1980; Schafle, Requa & Garrick, 1990; Solomon & Micheli, 1986). More specifically, knee injuries in dance develop largely from knee malalignrnent (Arnheim, 1980; Clarkson & Skrinar, 1988; Clippinger-Robertson, 1987; Ende & Wickstrom, 1982; Reid, 1988; Solomon & Micheli, 1986; Teitz, 1987; Watkins & Clarkson, 1990). Quantifying knee torque due to malalignment provides a measure to better understand malalignment and the prevention of injury due to incorrect dance technique. Seven subjects, dancing a six step Highland Fling, were video taped from both a frontal and oblique view (45 degrees to the frontal view) while performing on a force platform. Video analysis provided knee displacement measures from both frontal and oblique views. Ground reaction forces (GRF) provided the force component for knee torque calculations. Knee malalignment displacements at impact, maximum flexion and extension were measured from the oblique view. Results were analyzed using a single subject baseline design and indicated mixed trends in knee torque, knee malalignment, and knee flexion from early to late stages of the dance. The decrease in knee torque is explained by a decrease, therefore, malalignment could have increased to aid in the absorption of shock. Maximum knee malalignment occurred at maximum knee flexion in the last step for all subjects and for five subjects in the first step. Increased knee malalignment measures, in the oblique plane, demonstrate potential for injury unless the dancer's technique and lower extremity alignment is corrected. The research utilizes Highland dancers, however the research concentration is on dancing in the turned-out position, a position common to other dance forms, such as ballet, jazz, and modern dance

THE EFFECTS OF PRACTICE ON THE KINETICS OF VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL JUMPING

INTRODUCTION The purpose of this study is to determine the effects of practice onthe kinetics of vertical and horizontal jumping. A sub purpose of this study is to determine the relationship between peak power and distance jumped. The focus of this research is interdisciplinary in that an attempt will be made to understand vertical and horizontal jumping from both a Biomechanical and a Skill Acquisition perspective. The relationship between force and velocity is important in determining the peak power produced in vertical and horizontal jumping movements. Peak power is realized at the point in which the force time curve intercepts the velocity time curve (Dowling and Vamos, 1993). To understand the mechanics of jumping it is necessary to determine the relationship between force, velocity and peak power on the distance jumped. In terms of skill acquisition, practice isan important variable (Schmidt, 1988). As the learner performs a number of practice trials, they develop a memorial representation for the movement pattern. The kinetic components of the movement pattern may be importantdetenninants of skillful performance. Therefore, it is important to take into account the relationships between movement kinetics and movement outcome (i.e. distanceheight jumped), as a function of practice, to more fully understand the processes involved in the acquisition of a jumping skill. METHOD lkenty volunteer subjects were randomly assigned to either anexperimental or a control group. Subjects in the experimental group performed five maximal vertical and horizontal jumps daily for ten days. Pre and post tests were conducted on day one and day ten. Subjects performed three maximal vertical and horizontal jumps on an AMTI force plate. Power, force and velocity data was computed using the AMTI Power software. In addition, movement outcome (i.e., distance or height jumped) was measured. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The prdpost mean differences in the temporal and kinetic variables were used to determine the effect of practice on the 'kinetics of jumping. In addition, multiple regression and correlation were used to determine the relationship between the temporal and kinetic variables and the distance jumped. The results are discussed in terms of the changes in time to peak power as a function of practice. In addition, the relationship between peak power and distance jumped is discussed in terms of the learning process. Implications for the role of practice in skill acquisition and efficiency as a determinant of skill acquisition are discussed. REFERENCES Dowling, J.J. & Vamos, L. (1993). Identification of kinetic and temporal factors related to vertical jump performance. Journal of Applied Biomechanics, 9,95-110. Schmidt, R.A. (1988). Motor Control and Learning: A Beehavioral Emphasis. (2nd ed.). Champaign, 11: Human Kinetics

Quality of Life, Coping Styles, Stress Levels, and Time Use in Mothers of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: Comparing Single Versus Coupled Households

This study aimed to examine the influence of differences in household status on the parental stress, coping, time use and quality of life (QoL) among mothers of children with autism spectrum disorders. Forty-three single and 164 coupled mothers completed the survey. Data were analysed using multivariate logistic regression. We found that single mothers were 1.05 times more likely to report lower levels of environmental QoL. Whilst they were 1.73 times more likely to use acceptance coping style, this association did not persist after adjusting for total number of children, household income and employment status. There was no difference in time use and stress between these mothers. Possible environmental issues for single mothers and implications for future research are discussed. © 2017 Springer Science+Business Media, LL

Levelling foods for priority micronutrient value can provide more meaningful environmental footprint comparisons

A growing literature in Life Cycle Assessment seeks to better inform consumers, food policymakers, food supply chain actors, and other relevant stakeholders about how individual foods contribute to sustainable diets. One major challenge involves accurately capturing potential trade-offs between nutritional provision and environmental impacts associated with food production. In response, food system sustainability literature has turned increasingly to nutritional Life Cycle Assessment, which assesses the environmental footprints of different foods while accounting for nutritional value. Here we provide examples that show how environmental footprints based on a priority micronutrient-focused functional unit can provide nutritionally meaningful insights about the complexities involved in sustainable food systems. We reinforce the idea that there are limitations in using single-value nutrition-environment scores to inform food guidance, as they do not adequately capture the complex multi-dimensionality and variation involved in healthy and sustainable food systems. In our discussion we highlight the need for future agri-food sustainability assessments to pay attention to regional nutritional and environmental variation within and between commodities, and to better interpret trade-offs involved in food substitutions

A Spatially Varying Two-Sample Recombinant Coalescent, With Applications to HIV Escape Response

Statistical evolutionary models provide an important mechanism for describing and understanding the escape response of a viral population under a particular therapy. We present a new hierarchical model that incorporates spatially varying mutation and recombination rates at the nucleotide level. It also maintains sep- arate parameters for treatment and control groups, which allows us to estimate treatment effects explicitly. We use the model to investigate the sequence evolu- tion of HIV populations exposed to a recently developed antisense gene therapy, as well as a more conventional drug therapy. The detection of biologically rele- vant and plausible signals in both therapy studies demonstrates the effectiveness of the method

Internal flow measurements of the SSME fuel preburner injector element using real time neutron radiography

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/77098/1/AIAA-1990-2293-658.pd