Prospective association between objective measures of childhood motor coordination and sedentary behaviour in adolescence and adulthood

BACKGROUND: Higher levels of gross motor coordination are positively associated with physical activity in childhood, but little is known about how they relate to sedentary behaviour. The aim of this study was to investigate the longitudinal association between gross motor coordination at childhood and sedentary behaviour in adolescence and adulthood. METHODS: Data were from the 1970 British Cohort Study (the age 10, 16, and 42-year surveys). At age 10 the participant's mother provided information on how often participants watched TV and played sports and a health visitor administered several tests to assess gross motor coordination. At aged 16 and 42-years participants reported their daily screen and TV time, respectively, and physical activity status. We examined associations between gross motor coordination at age 10 with sedentary behaviour and physical activity at age 16 and 42, using logistic regression. RESULTS: In multivariable models, higher levels of gross motor coordination were associated with lower odds of high screen time (n = 3073; OR 0.79, 95% CI 0.64, 0.98) at 16-years although no associations with physical activity were observed (OR 1.16, 95% CI 0.93, 1.44). Similar associations were observed with TV time in adulthood when participants were aged 42, and in addition high gross motor coordination was also associated with physical activity participation (n = 4879; OR 1.18, 95 % CI 1.02, 1.36). CONCLUSIONS: Intervention efforts to increase physical activity participation and reduce sedentary behaviour over the life course may be best targeted towards children with low gross motor coordination

Experimental determination of line energies, line widths and relative transition probabilities of the Gadolinium L x ray emission spectrum

In this work the most intense x ray lines of the L emission spectrum of gadolinium with respect to line energies, natural line widths, and relative transition probabilities were investigated using monochromatized synchrotron radiation. The measurements were realized in the PTB laboratory at BESSY II by means of an in house built von Hamos spectrometer based on up to two full cylinder HAPG mosaic crystals. The von Hamos spectrometer is calibrated by means of elastically scattered photons from the employed synchrotron radiation beamline leading to a well defined energy scale and an experimentally determined spectrometer response. A selective excitation of the gadolinium L subshells was carried out to ensure a robust deconvolution of neighboring emission lines of different L subshells. The experimental results are discussed in the context of existing data from common databases and published values since significant deviations, especially for the L and L emission lines, are observed. We further substantiate and discuss two satellite lines at the low energy side of the L and L emission lines arising from the N4,5 subshel

Complementary methodologies for thin film characterization in one tool a novel instrument for 450 mm wafers

The scaling down of critical dimensions for the manufacturing of nanoelectronics requires the continuous introduction of new materials. The results of the analysis of thin high-k films made from Al2O3 as reference samples were used at multiple laboratories to show the power and strength of complementary metrology, e.g. using various techniques, such as synchrotron radiation X-ray spectrometry, 'table top' grazing incidence X-ray spectrometry and X-ray reflectometry, and spectroscopic ellipsometry. The layer thicknesses and material parameters validated by several analytical techniques demonstrate the successes of the use of complementary metrology. The requirement for validation, assurance, and support using differing analytical methods is driving the integration of multiple methods into one tool. This paper proposes an integrated metrology approach for reliable characterization of structure and composition. For the analysis of surfaces and materials, light sources in different spectral ranges, e. g. X-rays or infrared light, are used for diffraction, scattering, or excitation of fluorescence. The use of appropriate detectors in the scattering or fluorescence geometry is indispensable. Highly precise metrology requires accurate positioning of the sample with respect to the sources and the detectors. The handling unit for samples and automation are the main contributors to the cost of the semiconductor metrology equipment. For this reason, the approach of integrating multiple analytical techniques has advantages with respect to cost aspects and handling steps. A design study of the 450 mm analytical platform was performed. This design study integrates seven complementary analytical methods into one metrology chamber. Five methods rely on X-ray characterization methods, such as Total Reflection X-Ray Fluorescence Analysis (TXRF), Grazing Incidence X-Ray Fluorescence Analysis (GIXRF/XRF), X-Ray Reflectometry (XRR), X-Ray Diffractometry (XRD), and Grazing Incidence Small Angle X-Ray Scattering (GISAXS). Furthermore, the two methods of spectroscopic ellipsometry and vacuum UV reflectometry using the spectral range of ultra-violet to infrared were supplemented. A novel 5-axis positioning system was designed and patented, enabling the integration of all analytical methods into one chamber under vacuum or atmospheric conditions