Strontium Metabolism Studies

Abstract Not Provided

Strategies for the prevention of obesity in children

The prevalence of obesity is increasing at an unprecedented rate in the United Kingdom, in both adults and children. Obesity is a risk factor for many chronic diseases and may also lead to psychological disorders. The long-term successful treatment of obesity is a difficult goal to achieve. Preventing obesity, particularly in children, has become a public health objective. In this thesis, two strategies for the prevention of obesity in children are presented. The first study utilised a health promotion approach. A school-based programme, aimed at children aged 5-7 years, was developed and delivered in lunchtime clubs over four school terms (initial cohort, n 218). Healthy eating and/or physical activity were the focus of the learning objectives in an interactive and supportive teaching environment. Results of the intervention showed an improvement in children's knowledge and a modest increase in fruit intake, which was independent of a rise in parental consumption. Schools appear to provide an important opportunity for children to undertake physical activity. Satisfaction with the programme was high for parents and teachers. This pilot study is the first such interventioh in this age group in the UK and it may provide guidance for future initiatives. The teaching materials developed are to be made available nationally. In a second study, the effect of glycaemic index (GI) on appetite and satiety was investigated in a cohort of children aged 9-11 years (n 37). In this within-subject design study, all subjects received three test breakfasts, low-GI, low-GI with added sucrose or high-GI, in a random order, for three days each. This was followed by a buffet style lunch where food intake was recorded covertly. Results showed a significantly lower lunch intake after the low GI and low GI with added sucrose breakfasts when compared to both the high-GI and a trial day when habitual breakfast was eaten at home. Satiety pre-lunch was rated lower after the high-GI breakfast compared to the other two breakfasts. This is the first study to investigate the effect of low-GI meals on appetite and satiety in a group of normal and overweight children. It adds to the growing body of evidence for a role of low-GI foods in weight management. Obesity is a complex and multifactorial condition, which must be addressed on many levels. The research undertaken in this thesis provides evidence for pursuing both a health promotion approach and dietary manipulation to decrease the GI of a diet as potential strategies for the prevention of obesity in children

The Relationship Between Concussion History and Sex on Lower Extremity Biomechanics During a Cutting Task

Athletes with a history of sports related concussion (SRC) have been shown to exhibit lower extremity (LE) mechanics during high impact landing tasks that are conducive to increased injury risk. The underlying cause, and extent of this phenomena is currently unknown. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship between SRC history and sex on LE biomechanics during a land-and-cut task. METHODS: College athletes with a history of SRC and a control group of healthy athletes matched by sport, position, sex, and age were recruited for this study. Both groups were comprised of 9 males and 11 females. Athletes performed an unanticipated land-and-cut task. The task consisted of each athlete standing on a 60 cm box with a visual stimulus positioned three meters away from the athlete. Various colors (green, pink, blue, and red) were presented as the visual stimulus. Athletes were instructed to only respond to a green or red light. When a red or green light was shown, athletes were instructed to step off the box, land on both limbs and perform a 45-degree cutting movement to the left or right, respectively. Two separate point biserial correlations were conducted (one for each sex) correlating group (0 = control, 1 = SRC) with the following dependent variables: vertical ground reaction force (vGRF), peak knee extensor moment (pKEM), peak knee abduction moment (pKAM), peak ankle dorsiflexion angle (pDF), peak knee flexion angle (pKFA), and peak knee abduction angle (pKA). A linear regression equation was obtained for significant correlations. RESULTS: There was a significant negative moderate correlation between group and KF in males (r = -.69, p \u3c .01). There were no other significant correlations between group and LE biomechanical variables in either males or females (p \u3e .05). A linear regression analysis showed SRC history was a significant predictor of KF (KF = 63.71 – 12.43(group); R2 = .473, p = .002) CONCLUSION: Males in the SRC group were associated with lower KF. Specifically, the regression analysis indicated that males with an SRC history had a predicted 12.4 degree decrease in KF during the land-and-cut task. This suggests previously concussed males may be at increased risk for LE injury

Anomalous cooling of the massive white dwarf in U Geminorum following a narrow dwarf nova outburst

We obtained Hubble GHRS medium resolution (G160M grating) phase-resolved spectroscopic observations of the prototype dwarf nova U Geminorum during dwarf nova quiescence, 13 days and 61 days following the end of a narrow outburst. The spectral wavelength ranges were centered upon three different line regions: N V (1238\AA, 1242\AA), Si III (1300\AA) and He II (1640\AA). All of the quiescent spectra at both epochs are dominated by absorption lines and show no emission features. The Si III and He II absorption line velocities versus orbital phase trace the orbital motion of the white dwarf but the N~V absorption velocities appear to deviate from the white dwarf motion. We confirm our previously reported low white dwarf rotational velocity, V sin i= 100 km/s. We obtain a white dwarf orbital velocity semi-amplitude K1=107 km/s. Using the gamma-velocity of Wade (1981) we obtain an Einstein redshift of 80.4 km/s and hence a carbon core white dwarf mass of ~1.1 Msun. We report the first subsolar chemical abundances of C and Si for U Gem with C down by 0.05 with respect to the Sun, almost certainly a result of C depletion due to thermonuclear processing. This C-depletion is discussed within the framework of a weak TNR, contamination of the secondary during the common envelope phase, and mixing of C-depleted white dwarf gas with C-depleted matter deposited during a dwarf nova event. Remarkably the Teff of the white dwarf 13 days after outburst is only 32,000K, anomalously cooler than previous early post-outburst measurements. Extensive cooling during an extraordinarily long (210 days) quiescence followed by accretion onto an out-of-equilibrium cooled degenerate could explain the lower Teff.Comment: 16 pages AAS-Latex, 4 Figures, accepted for publication in Ap

The Relationship Between Concussion History And Lower Extremity Biomechanics During A Land And Cut Task

In high impact landing tasks, athletes with a history of sports related concussion (SRC) have been found to demonstrate lower extremity (LE) biomechanics that are associated with elevated injury risk. However, the exact relationships between SRC history and LE biomechanics are inconclusive. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between SRC history and LE biomechanics during a cutting task. METHODS: A cohort of athletes with a history of SRC (n=20) and a control group of healthy athletes (n=20) were recruited for this study. The control group were matched by age, sex, and sport. Athletes performed an unanticipated land and cut task. Athletes stood on a 60 cm box and focused on a visual light positioned three meters away from them. The light displayed green, pink, blue, or red. Athletes were instructed to step off the box, land on both limbs, and perform a 45-degree cutting maneuver to left or right when they saw red or green light respectively. A point biserial correlation was conducted correlating group (0 = control, 1 = SRC) with the following dependent variables: dominant limb ground reaction force (D_GRF), dominant limb ankle dorsiflexion angle (D_DF), dominant limb knee flexion angle (D_KFA), dominant limb knee flexion moment (D_KFM), dominant limb knee abduction angle (D_KAA), and dominant limb knee abduction moment (D_KAM). A linear regression equation was obtained for any significant correlations. RESULTS: There was a small significant negative correlation between group and KFA (r = -.342, p \u3c .01). There were no other significant correlations between group and LE biomechanical variables (p \u3e .05). A linear regression analysis showed SRC history as a significant predictor of KFA (KFA = 60.24 - 6.16(group); R2 = 0.117, p = .03). CONCLUSION: The SRC group was associated with lower KFA. According to our regression analysis, athletes with an SRC history had predicted a 6.2 degree decrease in KFA compared to the control group during the land and cut task. Furthermore, approximately 12% of the variance in KFA can be explained by SRC. This suggests that previously concussed athletes may be at a higher risk for LE injury. Further research in this area is needed to confirm this relationship

First grade reading materials of high interest level for children from the ages of seven through twelve.

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit

Influence of Cognitive Performance on Musculoskeletal Injury Risk: A Systematic Review

Background: While a large number of studies have investigated the anatomic, hormonal, and biomechanical risk factors related to musculoskeletal (MSK) injury risk, there is growing evidence to suggest that cognition is an important injury contributor in the athletic population. A systematic review of the available evidence regarding the influence of cognitive performance on MSK injury risk has yet to be published in the sports medicine literature. Purpose/Hypothesis: The purpose was to determine the effects of cognition on (1) MSK biomechanics during sports-specific tasks and (2) MSK injury occurrence in the athletic population. It was hypothesized that athletes with lower cognitive performance would demonstrate biomechanical patterns suggestive of MSK injury risk and that injured athletes would perform worse on baseline measures of cognition as compared with their noninjured counterparts. Study Design: Systematic review. Methods: PubMed and SPORTDiscus were searched from January 2000 to January 2020. Manual searches were performed on the reference lists of the included studies. A search of the literature was performed for studies published in English that reported MSK biomechanics as a function of cognitive performance and MSK injury occurrence after baseline measures of cognition. Two independent reviewers extracted pertinent study data in accordance with the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) 2009 guidelines and assessed study quality using the Quality Assessment Tool for Observational Cohort and Cross-sectional Studies from the National Institutes of Health. A meta-analysis was not performed, owing to the heterogeneous nature of the study designs. Results: Ten studies met inclusion criteria: 4 cognition–MSK biomechanics studies and 6 cognition–MSK injury studies. All 4 cognition–MSK biomechanics studies demonstrated that worse performance on measures of cognition was associated with lower extremity MSK biomechanical patterns suggestive of greater risk for MSK injury. The majority of the cognition–MSK injury studies demonstrated that injured athletes significantly differed on baseline cognition measures versus matched controls or that cognitive performance was a significant predictor for subsequent MSK injury. Conclusion: Although the literature exploring cognitive contributions to MSK injury risk is still in its infancy, it is suggested that sports medicine personnel conduct baseline assessments of cognition—in particular, reaction time and working memory—to identify which athletes may be at elevated risk for future MSK injury

The HIKCUPS trial: a multi-site randomized controlled trial of a combined physical activity skill-development and dietary modification program in overweight and obese children

BACKGROUND: Childhood obesity is one of the most pressing health issues of our time. Key health organizations have recommended research be conducted on the effectiveness of well-designed interventions to combat childhood obesity that can be translated into a variety of settings. This paper describes the design and methods used in the Hunter Illawarra Kids Challenge Using Parent Support (HIKCUPS) trial, an ongoing multi-site randomized controlled trial, in overweight/obese children comparing the efficacy of three interventions: 1) a parent-centered dietary modification program; 2) a child-centered physical activity skill-development program; and 3) a program combining both 1 and 2 above. METHODS/DESIGN: Each intervention consists of three components: i) 10-weekly face-to-face group sessions; ii) a weekly homework component, completed between each face-to-face session and iii) three telephone calls at monthly intervals following completion of the 10-week program. Details of the programs' methodological aspects of recruitment, randomization and statistical analyses are described here a priori. DISCUSSION: Importantly this paper describes how HIKCUPS addresses some of the short falls in the current literature pertaining to the efficacy of child obesity interventions. The HIKCUPS trial is funded by the National Medical Research Council, Australia

Humanising the interview process: an evaluation of Service User/Carers contribution to value based recruitment in a Pre-registration Adult Nursing Programme.

Within the UK there has been move towards value based recruitment (VBR) as a response to some highly publicised poor standards of care with the National Health Service (Francis 2013). In 2014, Health Education England (HEE) published their VBR Framework which articulated how recruitment of healthcare practitioners needed to focus on how applicants’ individual values/behaviours aligned with core values of the NHS Constitution (DoH 2013). Higher Education Institutes were expected to comply as 50% of student nurse programmes are based in healthcare settings. During 2014-2015 the pre-registration adult nursing team redesigned the interview process to increase a focus on VBR: integral to this, we felt was the inclusion of Service Users/Carers within the interview process. Following training SU/Carers graded applicants in a group activity alongside academic and practice partners. There have been few research studies published evaluating SU/Carers engagement in Pre-registration Adult Nursing interviews probably due to the challenges of implementing SU/Carer engagement in the large cohort numbers that adult nursing attracts. This mixed-method evaluation analysed the perspectives of differing stakeholders (Candidates, SU/Carers, Academics and Practice Partners) regarding the role SU/Carer engagement in Adult Nursing Pre-registration interviews. Early findings from candidates have highlighted they value the involvement of SU/Carers in the interview process, SU/Carers add a “human dimension” ensuring a focus on the heart of nursing and its value base rather than the role of nursing and associated nursing tasks. This paper will present the full evaluation identifying areas of good practice, some of the challenges as well recommendations for future work. References Department of Health. (2013) NHS Constitution. Department of Health: London. Francis, R. (2013) Report of the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust Public Inquiry; Executive Summary. London. Health Education England. (2014) Value Based Recruitment Framework. Available from: http://hee.nhs.uk/wp-content/blogs.dir/321/files/2014/10/VBR-Framework.pdf (accessed 07/02/15

Monovalent salt and pH-induced gelation of oxidized cellulose nanofibrils and starch networks: Combining rheology and small-angle X-Ray scattering

Water quality parameters such as salt content and various pH environments can alter the stability of gels as well as their rheological properties. Here, we investigated the effect of various concentrations of NaCl and different pH environments on the rheological properties of TEMPO-oxidised cellulose nanofibril (OCNF) and starch-based hydrogels. Addition of NaCl caused an increased stiffness of the OCNF:starch (1:1 wt%) blend gels, where salt played an important role in reducing the repulsive OCNF fibrillar interactions. The rheological properties of these hydrogels were unchanged at pH 5.0 to 9.0. However, at lower pH (4.0), the stiffness and viscosity of the OCNF and OCNF:starch gels appeared to increase due to proton-induced fibrillar interactions. In contrast, at higher pH (11.5), syneresis was observed due to the formation of denser and aggregated gel networks. Interactions as well as aggregation behaviour of these hydrogels were explored via ζ-potential measurements. Furthermore, the nanostructure of the OCNF gels was probed using small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), where the SAXS patterns showed an increase of slope in the low-q region with increasing salt concentration arising from aggregation due to the screening of the surface charge of the fibrils