What is the Economic Cost of Overweight Children?

Childhood overweight is now considered the most common health problem for children in the U.S. An important question is whether parents and policymakers will see rising medical expenditures for these children while they are still young. We estimate the overweight attributable fraction (OAF) of children’s medical expenditures, controlling for other factors that may cause expenditures to differ. We find that medical expenditures for overweight children are on average $12.09 higher per year (OAF = 0.5 percent), but confidence intervals are large and include zero. We also find little difference in the types of principal diagnoses per visit reported by weight status.

Transitions in coral reef accretion rates linked to intrinsic ecological shifts on turbid-zone nearshore reefs

Nearshore coral communities within turbid settings are typically perceived to have limited reef-building capacity. However, several recent studies have reported reef growth over millennial time scales within such environments and have hypothesized that depth-variable community assemblages may act as equally important controls on reef growth as they do in clear-water settings. Here, we explicitly test this idea using a newly compiled chronostratigraphic record (31 cores, 142 radiometric dates) from seven proximal (but discrete) nearshore coral reefs located along the central Great Barrier Reef (Australia). Uniquely, these reefs span distinct stages of geomorphological maturity, as reflected in their elevations below sea level. Integrated age-depth and ecological data sets indicate that contemporary coral assemblage shifts, associated with changing light availability and wave exposure as reefs shallowed, coincided with transitions in accretion rates at equivalent core depths. Reef initiation followed a regional ∼1 m drop in sea level (1200–800 calibrated yr B.P.) which would have lowered the photic floor and exposed new substrate for coral recruitment by winnowing away fine seafloor sediments. We propose that a two-way feedback mechanism exists where past growth history influences current reef morphology and ecology, ultimately driving future reef accumulation and morphological change. These findings provide the first empirical evidence that nearshore reef growth trajectories are intrinsically driven by changes in coral community structure as reefs move toward sea level, a finding of direct significance for predicting the impacts of extrinsically driven ecological change (e.g., coral-algal phase shifts) on reef growth potential within the wider coastal zone on the Great Barrier Reef

Mobile Device Use Among Rural, Low-Income Families and the Feasibility of an App to Encourage Preschoolers' Physical Activity: Qualitative Study.

BackgroundAs mobile devices are becoming ubiquitous, technology-based interventions provide a promising strategy to positively influence health behaviors of families with young children. However, questions remain about the feasibility and acceptability of intervention delivery via mobile apps in low-income, rural settings and among families with preschoolers.ObjectiveThe aims of this study were to understand the content and context of mobile device use for preschoolers; explore parent beliefs on this topic, including the acceptability of intervention delivery via mobile devices; and test a prototype of an app to encourage preschoolers' physical activity with both parents and children.MethodsParents (n=29) were recruited from 5 preschool centers in eastern, rural Colorado to complete a semistructured telephone interview regarding preschoolers' mobile device use. A second sample of parents (n=31) was recruited from the same preschool centers to view the app prototype independently and provide feedback. A third sample of preschool children (n=24) was videotaped using the app in small groups to measure engagement and record their responses to the app.ResultsFive key content areas emerged from the telephone interviews: (1) mobile devices are an important part of families' everyday routines, and parents have parameters governing their use; (2) parents often use mobile devices as a tool for behavior management; (3) parents clearly distinguish between mobile device use for learning versus entertainment; (4) parents have an overarching desire for balance in regard to their child's mobile device use; and (5) parents were generally supportive of the idea of using mobile apps for intervention delivery. From the app prototype testing with parents, participants reacted positively to the app and felt that it would be useful in a variety of situations. Testing with preschoolers showed the children were highly engaged with the app and a majority remained standing and/or actively moving through the entire length of the app.ConclusionsMobile devices are already integrated into most families' daily routines and appear to be an acceptable method of intervention delivery in low-income families in rural Colorado. The physical activity app represents an innovative way to reach these families and, with further improvements based on participant feedback, will provide children with a unique opportunity to practice key movement skills

Reorientation of magnetic anisotropy in epitaxial cobalt ferrite thin films

Spin reorientation has been observed in CoFe2O4 thin single crystalline films epitaxially grown on (100) MgO substrate upon varying the film thickness. The critical thickness for such a spin-reorientation transition was estimated to be 300 nm. The reorientation is driven by a structural transition in the film from a tetragonal to cubic symmetry. At low thickness, the in-plane tensile stress induces a tetragonal distortion of the lattice that generates a perpendicular anisotropy, large enough to overcome the shape anisotropy and to stabilize the magnetization easy axis out of plane. However, in thicker films, the lattice relaxation toward the cubic structure of the bulk allows the shape anisotropy to force the magnetization to be in plane aligned

Young Adults with Cleft Lip and Palate: Personal Perspectives of Transition of Care

Children with cleft lip/palate receive team care which typically ends at eighteen. Young adults then need to transition into an adult-centered model of care. A paucity of literature exists regarding their perspective on transition of care experience. This research explores the experiences of young adults with CLP regarding their transition of care process, within the person-centered ICF framework

Humor in Children's Picture Books

This study examines whether the humor forms found in children's picture books published within the last five years meet the cognitive needs of the preschool-age child. A review of the literature on cognitive development and the stages of humor development will shed light on what types of humor are understood and appreciated by three to seven year olds from a developmental perspective. A sample of humorous picture books was selected for analysis and coded with the types of humor present in each. The results reveal that pictures books are using developmentally appropriate types of humor, although types of humor relevant for younger or older stages of development are also found in the samples

AIDS: The Ryan White CARE Act

This report discusses the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act, which makes federal funds available to metropolitan areas and states to assist in health care costs and support services for individuals and families affected by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). This report discusses related legislation and appropriations

Analysis and contribution of stress anisotropy in epitaxial hard ferrite thin films

The stress anisotropy in epitaxial hard ferrites thin films (BaFe12O19, CoFe2O4) has been investigated using two methods. (a) The thickness dependence of torque curves and magnetic hysteresis loops. (b) The comparison between magnetic and magneto-optic Kerr hysteresis loops. Both analyses confirm the domination of stress in CoFe2O4 whereas in BaFe12O19 films the stress is too weak to compete with magnetocrystalline anisotropy