A College Athlete\u27s Return from Severe Aplastic Anemia

Please enjoy Volume 5, Issue 1 of the JSMAHS. In this issue you will find Professional and under graduate research abstracts, case reports, and critically appraised topics. Thank you for viewing this 5th Annual OATA Special Edition

Understory influence on leafroller pupunations in Hawke's bay organic apple orchard

Leafrollers (Tortricidae) were collected from apple foliage and understorey vegetation in six commercial organic apple orchards in Hawke’s Bay over one season. Assessments were made of plant species present in the understorey at the time of collection. All leafroller larvae were reared to adults on artificial diet to identify leafroller species and parasitoids. Nearly half (47%) of all leafrollers collected in these orchards were located in the understorey, highlighting the importance of understorey and its management for the control of leafroller. Dock, clover and dandeliontype plants contributed 25% to the overall understorey, yet hosted 75% of the leafrollers collected from the understorey. Dolichogenidea sp. was the most abundant parasitoid (79%) attacking leafrollers found amongst the apple foliage, whereas Glyptapanteles demeter was dominant in the understorey (61%). Generally the number of leafrollers in an orchard was proportional to the abundance of broadleaf weeds and inversely proportional to parasitis

An Evaluation of Physical Activity Levels amongst University Employees

Approximately 60% of the world’s population do not meet the physical activity (PA) guidelines. Physical inactivity is increasing in occupations, with work-related health issues becoming more prevalent. University employees’ work in a range of job roles and PA levels in this population is unclear. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate PA levels amongst university employees in a UK Higher Education institution. Four hundred employees (male = 131, female = 269) partook in this quantitative study and completed an online International Physical Activity Questionnaire Long Form (IPAQ-LF) to assess total moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA) and work-related MVPA. A Mann-Whitney U test examined differences in total MVPA and work-related MVPA between genders and a Kruskal-Wallis H test examined differences in total MVPA and work related MVPA between job roles. The findings showed that university employees engaged in a median of 330 minutes and 1770 METs of MVPA across all domains of IPAQ-LF. Further, the median time spent in total work PA was 30 minutes and 123 METs. There was a significant difference between genders, as males engaged in 150 minutes more total MVPA compared to females (p 0.05). Findings suggest that job role does not affect PA levels within university workplace, although they do propose that males engage in more MVPA compared to females. As a result of the subjective nature of this research, objective research is required to confirm current findings

PC-CUBE: A Personal Computer Based Hypercube

PC-CUBE is an ensemble of IBM PCs or close compatibles connected in the hypercube topology with ordinary computer cables. Communication occurs at the rate of 115.2 K-band via the RS-232 serial links. Available for PC-CUBE is the Crystalline Operating System III (CrOS III), Mercury Operating System, CUBIX and PLOTIX which are parallel I/O and graphics libraries. A CrOS performance monitor was developed to facilitate the measurement of communication and computation time of a program and their effects on performance. Also available are CXLISP, a parallel version of the XLISP interpreter; GRAFIX, some graphics routines for the EGA and CGA; and a general execution profiler for determining execution time spent by program subroutines. PC-CUBE provides a programming environment similar to all hypercube systems running CrOS III, Mercury and CUBIX. In addition, every node (personal computer) has its own graphics display monitor and storage devices. These allow data to be displayed or stored at every processor, which has much instructional value and enables easier debugging of applications. Some application programs which are taken from the book Solving Problems on Concurrent Processors (Fox 88) were implemented with graphics enhancement on PC-CUBE. The applications range from solving the Mandelbrot set, Laplace equation, wave equation, long range force interaction, to WaTor, an ecological simulation

A Comparison of Physical Activity and Sedentary Lifestyle of University Employees through ActiGraph and IPAQ-LF

Introduction: The benefits of participating in physical activity (PA) are wide-ranging, such as lowering the risk of diabetes and anxiety. Employees’ engagement in PA can also benefit their employers due to the potential reduction in absenteeism and increased productivity. However, the PA levels and sedentary behaviour of university employees are yet to be examined using a mixed methods approach. This study aimed to monitor the PA and sedentary lifestyle (SL) of university employees’ objectively and subjectively for a whole week. Methods: Sixty-four employees (male = 33; female = 31) wore a PA monitor for a whole week and simultaneously completed the International Physical Activity Questionnaire Long Form (IPAQ-LF) to evaluate light, moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA), and SL amongst employees from different job roles such as Academics, Administration, and Professionals Service. Results: The ActiGraph results determined that employees engaged in significantly more light PA, and MVPA compared to the self-reported IPAQ-LF (p 0.05). However, there were significant differences across gender light PA Z = –6.139, p = .001, MVPA Z = –4.962, p = .001 but no significant differences in SL Z = –.869, p = .385. Also, there were significant differences across job roles light PA, MVPA (p 0.05). Discussion and conclusion: Findings suggest, IPAQ-LF presented lower light PA, MVPA, and SL than ActiGraph. Thus, considering the impact of prolonged SL on health and wellbeing, future research is needed to explore the challenges this population faces regarding PA engagement and propose potential interventions to reduce SL amongst university employees

Comparison of human uterine cervical electrical impedance measurements derived using two tetrapolar probes of different sizes

BACKGROUND We sought to compare uterine cervical electrical impedance spectroscopy measurements employing two probes of different sizes, and to employ a finite element model to predict and compare the fraction of electrical current derived from subepithelial stromal tissue. METHODS Cervical impedance was measured in 12 subjects during early pregnancy using 2 different sizes of the probes on each subject. RESULTS Mean cervical resistivity was significantly higher (5.4 vs. 2.8 Ωm; p < 0.001) with the smaller probe in the frequency rage of 4–819 kHz. There was no difference in the short-term intra-observer variability between the two probes. The cervical impedance measurements derived in vivo followed the pattern predicted by the finite element model. CONCLUSION Inter-electrode distance on the probes for measuring cervical impedance influences the tissue resistivity values obtained. Determining the appropriate probe size is necessary when conducting clinical studies of resistivity of the cervix and other human tissues

Equilibrium moisture and drying kinetics modelling of macroalgae species Ulva ohnoi and Oedogonium intermedium

Algae-based products have applications in the food and pharmaceutical industries, bioremediation of waste streams and biofuel production. Drying has been recognised to constitute the largest energy cost in algae processing, yet there is limited data or modelling characterising the drying kinetics of macroalgae. This research modelled the equilibrium moisture content of two macroalgae species, Ulva ohnoi, a saltwater alga and Oedogonium intermedium, a freshwater alga. The Guggenheim–Anderson–de Boer model was found to best represent experimental equilibrium moisture contents. Drying rate curves obtained under both convective and radiative conditions were fitted to an analytical solution of Fick’s second law, including the modelled equilibrium moisture values. Effective diffusivity values for the two species are presented

Abundance and properties of microplastics found in commercial fish meal and cultured common carp (Cyprinus carpio)

Microplastics (MPs) are environmental contaminants that are of increasing global concern. This study investigated the presence of MPs in four varieties of marine-derived commercial fish meal, followed by identification of their polymer composition using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Exposure experiments were conducted on cultured common carp (Cyprinus carpio) by feeding four varieties of commercially available fish meal to determine relationships between abundance and properties of MPs found both in meal and in those transferred to cultured common carp. Mean particle sizes were 452 ± 161 μm (± SD). Fragments were the predominant shape of MP found in fish meal (67%) and C. carpio gastrointestinal tract and gills (65%), and polypropylene and polystyrene were the most present plastic polymers found in fish meal (45% and 24%, respectively) and C. carpio (37% and 33%, respectively). Positive relationships were found between MP levels in fish meal and C. carpio. This study highlights that marine-derived fish meal may be a source of MPs which can be transferred to cultured fish, thus posing a concern for aquaculture