Comparability of measured acceleration from accelerometry-based activity monitors

Accelerometers that provide triaxial measured acceleration data are now available. However, equivalence of output between brands cannot be assumed and testing is necessary to determine whether features of the acceleration signal are interchangeable.National Osteoporosis Societ

An exploratory cluster randomised controlled trial of knowledge translation strategies to support evidence-informed decision-making in local governments (The KT4LG study)

Background: Childhood overweight and obesity is the most prevalent and, arguably, politically complex child health problem internationally. Governments, communities and industry have important roles to play, and are increasingly expected to deliver an evidence-informed system-wide prevention program. However, efforts are impeded by a lack of organisational access to and use of research evidence. This study aims to identify feasible, acceptable and ideally, effective knowledge translation (KT) strategies to increase evidence-informed decision making in local governments, within the context of childhood obesity prevention as a national policy priority.Methods/Design: This paper describes the methods for KT4LG, a cluster randomised controlled trial which is exploratory in nature, given the limited evidence base and methodological advances. KT4LG aims to examine a program of KT strategies to increase the use of research evidence in informing public health decisions in local governments. KT4LG will also assess the feasibility and acceptability of the intervention. The intervention program comprises a facilitated program of evidence awareness, access to tailored research evidence, critical appraisal skills development, networking and evidence summaries and will be compared to provision of evidence summaries alone in the control program. 28 local governments were randomised to intervention or control, using computer generated numbers, stratified by budget tertile (high, medium or low). Questionnaires will be used to measure impact, costs, and outcomes, and key informant interviews will be used to examine processes, feasibility, and experiences. Policy tracer studies will be included to examine impact of intervention on policies within relevant government policy documents.Discussion: Knowledge translation intervention studies with a focus on public health and prevention are very few in number. Thus, this study will provide essential data on the experience of program implementation and evaluation of a system-integrated intervention program employed within the local government public health context. Standardised programs of system, organisational and individual KT strategies have not been described or rigorously evaluated. As such, the findings will make a significant contribution to understanding whether a facilitated program of KT strategies hold promise for facilitating evidence-informed public health decision making within complex multisectoral government organisations.<br /

Smoking during Pregnancy Affects Speech-Processing Ability in Newborn Infants

BACKGROUND: Tobacco smoking during pregnancy is known to adversely affect development of the central nervous system in babies of smoking mothers by restricting utero–placental blood flow and the amount of oxygen available to the fetus. Behavioral data associate maternal smoking with lower verbal scores and poorer performance on specific language/auditory tests. OBJECTIVES: In the current study we examined the effects of maternal smoking during pregnancy on newborns’ speech processing ability as measured by event-related potentials (ERPs). METHOD: High-density ERPs were recorded within 48 hr of birth in healthy newborn infants of smoking (n = 8) and nonsmoking (n = 8) mothers. Participating infants were matched on sex, gestational age, birth weight, Apgar scores, mother’s education, and family income. Smoking during pregnancy was determined by parental self-report and medical records. ERPs were recorded in response to six consonant–vowel syllables presented in random order with equal probability. RESULTS: Brainwaves of babies of nonsmoking mothers were characterized by typical hemisphere asymmetries, with larger amplitudes over the left hemisphere, especially over temporal regions. Further, infants of nonsmokers discriminated among a greater number of syllables whereas the newborns of smokers began the discrimination process at least 150 msec later and differentiated among fewer stimuli. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that prenatal exposure to tobacco smoke in otherwise healthy babies is linked with significant changes in brain physiology associated with basic perceptual skills that could place the infant at risk for later developmental problems

Mutations in CRADD Result in Reduced Caspase-2-Mediated Neuronal Apoptosis and Cause Megalencephaly with a Rare Lissencephaly Variant.

Lissencephaly is a malformation of cortical development typically caused by deficient neuronal migration resulting in cortical thickening and reduced gyration. Here we describe a "thin" lissencephaly (TLIS) variant characterized by megalencephaly, frontal predominant pachygyria, intellectual disability, and seizures. Trio-based whole-exome sequencing and targeted re-sequencing identified recessive mutations of CRADD in six individuals with TLIS from four unrelated families of diverse ethnic backgrounds. CRADD (also known as RAIDD) is a death-domain-containing adaptor protein that oligomerizes with PIDD and caspase-2 to initiate apoptosis. TLIS variants cluster in the CRADD death domain, a platform for interaction with other death-domain-containing proteins including PIDD. Although caspase-2 is expressed in the developing mammalian brain, little is known about its role in cortical development. CRADD/caspase-2 signaling is implicated in neurotrophic factor withdrawal- and amyloid-β-induced dendritic spine collapse and neuronal apoptosis, suggesting a role in cortical sculpting and plasticity. TLIS-associated CRADD variants do not disrupt interactions with caspase-2 or PIDD in co-immunoprecipitation assays, but still abolish CRADD's ability to activate caspase-2, resulting in reduced neuronal apoptosis in vitro. Homozygous Cradd knockout mice display megalencephaly and seizures without obvious defects in cortical lamination, supporting a role for CRADD/caspase-2 signaling in mammalian brain development. Megalencephaly and lissencephaly associated with defective programmed cell death from loss of CRADD function in humans implicate reduced apoptosis as an important pathophysiological mechanism of cortical malformation. Our data suggest that CRADD/caspase-2 signaling is critical for normal gyration of the developing human neocortex and for normal cognitive ability

Comparability of measured acceleration from accelerometry-based activity monitors

Background: Accelerometers that provide triaxial measured acceleration data are now available. However, equivalence of output between brands cannot be assumed and testing is necessary to determine whether features of the acceleration signal are interchangeable. Purpose: This study aimed to establish the equivalence of output between two brands of monitor in a laboratory and in a free-living environment. Methods: For part 1, 38 adults performed nine laboratory-based activities while wearing an ActiGraph GT3X+ and GENEActiv (Gravity Estimator of Normal Everyday Activity) at the hip. For part 2, 58 children age 10–12 yr wore a GT3X+ and GENEActiv at the hip for 7 d in a free-living setting. Results: For part 1, the magnitude of time domain features from the GENEActiv was greater than that from the GT3X+. However, frequency domain features compared well, with perfect agreement of the dominant frequency for 97%–100% of participants for most activities. For part 2, mean daily acceleration measured by the two brands was correlated (r = 0.93, P \u3c 0.001, respectively) but the magnitude was approximately 15% lower for the GT3X+ than that for the GENEActiv at the hip. Conclusions: Frequency domain-based classification algorithms should be transferable between monitors, and it should be possible to apply time domain-based classification algorithms developed for one device to the other by applying an affine conversion on the measured acceleration values. The strong relation between accelerations measured by the two brands suggests that habitual activity level and activity patterns assessed by the GENE and GT3X+ may compare well if analyzed appropriately

Comparability of measured acceleration from accelerometry-based activity monitors

Background: Accelerometers that provide triaxial measured acceleration data are now available. However, equivalence of output between brands cannot be assumed and testing is necessary to determine whether features of the acceleration signal are interchangeable. Purpose: This study aimed to establish the equivalence of output between two brands of monitor in a laboratory and in a free-living environment. Methods: For part 1, 38 adults performed nine laboratory-based activities while wearing an ActiGraph GT3X+ and GENEActiv (Gravity Estimator of Normal Everyday Activity) at the hip. For part 2, 58 children age 10–12 yr wore a GT3X+ and GENEActiv at the hip for 7 d in a free-living setting. Results: For part 1, the magnitude of time domain features from the GENEActiv was greater than that from the GT3X+. However, frequency domain features compared well, with perfect agreement of the dominant frequency for 97%–100% of participants for most activities. For part 2, mean daily acceleration measured by the two brands was correlated (r = 0.93, P \u3c 0.001, respectively) but the magnitude was approximately 15% lower for the GT3X+ than that for the GENEActiv at the hip. Conclusions: Frequency domain-based classification algorithms should be transferable between monitors, and it should be possible to apply time domain-based classification algorithms developed for one device to the other by applying an affine conversion on the measured acceleration values. The strong relation between accelerations measured by the two brands suggests that habitual activity level and activity patterns assessed by the GENE and GT3X+ may compare well if analyzed appropriately