The intake and quality of breakfast consumption in adolescents attending public secondary schools in the North West province, South Africa

Objectives: The objectives of the study were to determine the proportion and quality of breakfast intake in adolescents, and to determine the effect of breakfast intake and quality on overall diet quality.Design: A cross-sectional quantitative study design was used.Setting: The setting was seven public secondary schools in Potchefstroom and the surrounding areas in North West province.Subjects: The subjects were randomly selected adolescents in grades 9-11 (n = 244).Outcome measures: A self-administered demographic questionnaire was completed by the adolescents. Single 24-hour recall, using the four-stage multiple-pass method, was conducted to obtain information on breakfast and dietary intake for the day. Breakfast quality was measured by applying a breakfast quality score. The Diet Quality Index Revised was used to assess the quality of the overall diet. Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient was employed to assess an association between the continuous variables. The chi-square or Fisher’s exact test was utilised to assess an association between the categorical variables.Results: The proportion of breakfast intake and skipping was 81% and 19%, respectively. The mean breakfast quality score was moderate (3.1). No significant difference was shown in the diet quality score for the breakfast eaters and skippers. The breakfast quality score was marginally associated with calcium intake (p-value < 0.0001, r = 0.418), phosphorous intake (p-value < 0.0001, r = 0.378) and total diversity score (p-value < 0.0001, r = 0.369).Conclusion: The proportion of breakfast skipping, moderate quality of the breakfast consumed and trend of improved nutrient intake with improved breakfast quality highlights the need for breakfast education and intervention as part of the Integrated School Health Policy.Keywords: adolescent, breakfast, breakfast quality, diet quality, adolescenc

Interplay between interfacial energy, contact mechanics, and capillary forces in EGaIn droplets

Eutectic gallium–indium (EGaIn) is increasingly employed as an interfacial conductor material in molecular electronics and wearable healthcare devices owing to its ability to be shaped at room temperature, conductivity, and mechanical stability. Despite this emerging usage, the mechanical and physical mechanisms governing EGaIn interactions with surrounding objects─mainly regulated by surface tension and interfacial adhesion─remain poorly understood. Here, using depth-sensing nanoindentation (DSN) on pristine EGaIn/GaOx surfaces, we uncover how changes in EGaIn/substrate interfacial energies regulate the adhesive and contact mechanic behaviors, notably the evolution of EGaIn capillary bridges with distinct capillary geometries and pressures. Varying the interfacial energy by subjecting EGaIn to different chemical environments and by functionalizing the tip with chemically distinct self-assembled monolayers (SAMs), we show that the adhesion forces between EGaIn and the solid substrate can be increased by up to 2 orders of magnitude, resulting in about a 60-fold increase in the elongation of capillary bridges. Our data reveal that by deploying molecular junctions with SAMs of different terminal groups, the trends of charge transport rates, the resistance of monolayers, and the contact interactions between EGaIn and monolayers from electrical characterizations are governed by the interfacial energies as well. This study provides a key understanding into the role of interfacial energy on geometrical characteristics of EGaIn capillary bridges, offering insights toward the fabrication of EGaIn junctions in a controlled fashion

Successful fault current interruption on DC circuit breaker

This study focus on the interruption capability of the DC circuit breaker employing a current commutation approach and evaluates the two main factors that determine the success rate for breaker current interruption, namely the current slope di/dt before current zero and the rate of rise of the transient recovery voltage dv/dt across the mechanical breaker contacts after current zero. A vacuum circuit breaker is used to evaluate DC breaker characteristics. Detailed mathematical and graphical analysis are presented for the proposed circuit operation used in analysing the circuit breaker properties, with simulation and experimental results at fault current levels up to 330 A

Mathematical study of the effects of applied stress, T-stress and back stress in photoelastic fringe patterns

This work is an attempt at developing a novel mathematical model to describe the stresses near the crack tip, taking into consideration the effects of plasticity. The focus is on describing how the applied stress normal to the crack, herein referred to as the K-stress, Tstress and ‘back stress’ induced by plasticity along the crack flank and in the crack tip plastic zone influence the crack tip elastic stress fields. The important features emerging from this study are that the sign and magnitude of each term can substantially alter the crack tip stress fields, and hence influence the photoelastic fringe patterns. To validate the mathematical model, polycarbonate compact tension specimens have been used and observed in a transmission polariscope in order to study the single effect of a pure ‘back stress’ (acting as an interfacial shear stress at the elastic-plastic boundary) and combination effects of K-stress, Tstress and ‘back stress’. It is observed that the fringe patterns obtained through experiment show good agreement with those derived by mathematical modelling

Outcome of traumatic thoracolumbar spine fractures in elderly:A systematic review

Introduction: Adequate guidelines for treatment of people over 65 years, suffering traumatic thoracolumbar spine fractures without neurologic deficit, are currently lacking. Research question: The aim of this study was to systematically review the available literature regarding the outcome of conservative and surgical treatment of thoracolumbar spinal trauma in elderly patients. Material and methods: A systematic review according the PRISMA guidelines was performed. Pubmed, Web of Science, EMBASE and the Cochrane Central register were searched until June 2021. Risk of bias of the included studies was evaluated. Clinical and radiological results, as well as complications of conservative or surgical treatment were reviewed. Results: Six articles were included (one prospective randomized trial, two prospective and three retrospective cohort studies). In these studies conflicting results were observed with regard to pain, radiological results and complications following both conservative and surgical treatment strategies for thoracolumbar spine fractures in elderly. Discussion and conclusion: Treatment of thoracolumbar fractures in elderly should focus on early mobilization to reduce complications and hospital stay. This may improve functional outcome and prevent worsening of frailty in this vulnerable group of patients. To elucidate the optimal treatment for elderly patient with thoracolumbar fractures, future research should focus on patient specific treatment rather than the mere difference between outcome of surgical and conservative treatment.</p

Outcome of traumatic thoracolumbar spine fractures in elderly:A systematic review

Introduction: Adequate guidelines for treatment of people over 65 years, suffering traumatic thoracolumbar spine fractures without neurologic deficit, are currently lacking. Research question: The aim of this study was to systematically review the available literature regarding the outcome of conservative and surgical treatment of thoracolumbar spinal trauma in elderly patients. Material and methods: A systematic review according the PRISMA guidelines was performed. Pubmed, Web of Science, EMBASE and the Cochrane Central register were searched until June 2021. Risk of bias of the included studies was evaluated. Clinical and radiological results, as well as complications of conservative or surgical treatment were reviewed. Results: Six articles were included (one prospective randomized trial, two prospective and three retrospective cohort studies). In these studies conflicting results were observed with regard to pain, radiological results and complications following both conservative and surgical treatment strategies for thoracolumbar spine fractures in elderly. Discussion and conclusion: Treatment of thoracolumbar fractures in elderly should focus on early mobilization to reduce complications and hospital stay. This may improve functional outcome and prevent worsening of frailty in this vulnerable group of patients. To elucidate the optimal treatment for elderly patient with thoracolumbar fractures, future research should focus on patient specific treatment rather than the mere difference between outcome of surgical and conservative treatment.</p

Dr. Martin Hillenbrand to Receive University of Dayton Distinguished Alumnus Award

News release announcing the University of Dayton will Award Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs, Dr. Martin Hillenbrand, with the Distinguished Alumnus Award

Objective sleep patterns and validity of self-reported sleep monitoring across different playing levels in rugby union

Background: Growing evidence highlights that elite rugby union players experience poor sleep quality and quantity which can be detrimental for performance. Objectives: This study aimed to i) compare objective sleep measures of rugby union players between age categories over a one week period, and ii) compare self-reported measures of sleep to wristwatch actigraphy as the criterion. Methods: Two hundred and fifty-three nights of sleep were recorded from 38 players representing four different age groups (i.e. under 16, under 18, senior academy, elite senior) in a professional rugby union club in the United Kingdom (UK). Linear mixed models and magnitude-based decisions were used for analysis. Results: The analysis of sleep schedules showed that U16 players went to bed and woke up later than their older counterparts (small differences). In general, players obtained seven hours of sleep per night, with trivial or unclear differences between age groups. The validity analysis highlighted a large relationship between objective and subjective sleep measures for bedtime (r = 0.56 [0.48 to 0.63]), and get up time (r = 0.70 [0.63 to 0.75]). A large standardised typical error (1.50 [1.23 to 1.88]) was observed for total sleep time. Conclusion: This study highlights that differences exist in sleep schedules between rugby union players in different age categories that should be considered when planning training. Additionally, self-reported measures overestimated sleep parameters. Coaches should consider these results to optimise sleep habits of their players and should be careful with self-reported sleep measures

The Safety Profile of Intentional or Iatrogenic Sacrifice of the Artery of Adamkiewciz and Its Vicinity’s Spinal Segmental Arteries: A Systematic Review

Study Design: Systematic review. Objectives: There is paucity of consensus on whether (1) the artery of Adamkiewicz (AoA) and (2) the number of contiguous segmental spinal arteries (SSAs) that can be safely ligated without causing spinal cord ischemia. The objective of this review is to determine the risk of motor neurological deficits from iatrogenic sacrifice of the (1) AoA and (2) its vicinity’s SSAs. Methods: Systematic review of the spine and vascular surgery was carried out in accordance to PRISMA guidelines. Outcomes in terms of risk of postoperative motor neurological deficit with occlusion of the AoA, bilateral contiguous SSAs, or unilateral contiguous SSAs were analyzed. Results: Ten articles, all retrospective case series, were included. Three studies (total N = 50) demonstrated a postoperative neurological deficit risk of 4.0% when the AoA is occluded. When 1 to 6 pairs of SSAs (without knowledge of AoA location) were ligated, the postoperative neurological deficit risk was 0.6%, as compared with 5.4% when more than 6 bilateral pairs of SSAs were ligated (relative risk [RR] = 0.105, 95% CI 0.013-0.841, P =.0337). For unilateral ligation of SSAs of two to nine levels, the risk of postoperative neurological deficit does not exceed 1.3%. Conclusion: The current best evidence indicates that (1) occlusion of the AoA and (2) occlusion of up to 6 pairs of SSAs is associated with a low risk of postoperative neurological deficit. This limited number of low quality studies restrict the ability to draw definitive conclusions. Ligation of AoA and SSAs should only be undertaken when absolutely required to mitigate the small but devastating risk of paralysis

Dry-Milling and Fractionation of Transgenic Maize Seed Tissues with Green Fluorescent Protein as a Tissue Marker

The efficiency of fractionating cereal grains (e.g., dry corn milling) can be evaluated and monitored by quantifying the proportions of seed tissues in each of the recovered fractions. The quantities of individual tissues are typically estimated using indirect methods such as quantifying fiber or ash to indicate pericarp and tip cap contents, and oil to indicate germ content. More direct and reliable methods are possible with tissue-specific markers. We used two transgenic maize lines, one containing the fluorescent protein green fluorescent protein (GFP) variant S65T expressed in endosperm, and the other containing GFP expressed in germ to determine the fate of each tissue in the dry-milling fractionation process. The two lines were dry-milled to produce three fractions (bran-, endosperm-, and germ-rich fractions) and GFP fluorescence was quantified in each fraction to estimate the tissue composition. Using a simplified laboratory dry-milling procedure and our GFP-containing grain, we determined that the endosperm-rich fraction contained 4% germ tissue, the germ-rich fraction contained 28% germ, 20% endosperm, and 52% nonendosperm and nonembryo tissues, and the bran-rich fraction contained 44% endosperm, 13% germ, and 43% nonendosperm and nonembryo tissues. GFP-containing grain can be used to optimize existing fractionation methods and to develop improved processing strategies