A comparison of ultrasonic and mechanical stadiometry

AIM: To compare an ultrasonic height measuring device (Gulliver) with mechanical stadiometry and the classical "book and tape measure" method. METHODS: Blinded duplicate measurements of height were made on each of 14 children by a pair of observers using a stadiometer (H) and Gulliver (G). Height was measured on a further 18 children by parents and an auxologist using Gulliver and the book and tape method (TM), and the results were compared with those obtained with a single stadiometry measurement. Finally, measurement of a rigid metal box was made on 10 occasions by the three methods. RESULTS: In the group of 14 children, the mean difference (range) in height (H minus G) was +2.8 cm (+0.5 to +4.55 cm), with H giving a systematically higher value in 276 of 280 individual measurements. In the group of 18 children, height by H was greater than by G or TM in 47 of 52 individual measurements. The mean (SD) height of the box by H (61.60 (0.07) cm) was greater than by G (60.96 (0.15) cm; p 0.05). G and TM produced three times less reliable estimations of height than H, but with a large difference in cost, and there was evidence of systematic underrecording of height by 0.5 cm with G. CONCLUSIONS: Stadiometry is precise and reproducible, and can detect true changes in height over one month periods in mid-childhood, and should remain the standard way of observing growth. The book and tape method can produce clinically acceptable quarterly estimations of height that can be performed in the home

Tonsillectomy among children with low baseline acute throat infection consultation rates in UK general practices: a cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effectiveness of tonsillectomy in reducing acute throat infection (ATI) consultation rates over 6 years' follow-up among children with low baseline ATI consultation rates. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SETTING: UK general practices from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink. PARTICIPANTS: Children aged 4-15 years with ≤3 ATI consultations during the 3 years prior to 2001 (baseline). 450 children who underwent tonsillectomy (tonsillectomy group) and 13 442 other children with an ATI consultation (comparison group) in 2001. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Mean differences in ATI consultation rates over the first 3 years' and subsequent 3 years' follow-up compared with 3 years prior to 2001 (baseline); odds of ≥3 ATI consultations at the same time points. RESULTS: Among children in the tonsillectomy group, the 3-year mean ATI consultation rate decreased from 1.31 to 0.66 over the first 3 years' follow-up and further declined to 0.60 over the subsequent 3 years' follow-up period. Compared with children who had no operation, those who underwent tonsillectomy experienced a reduction in 3-year mean ATI consultations per child of 2.5 (95% CI 2.3 to 2.6, p<0.001) over the first 3 years' follow-up, but only 1.2 (95% CI 1.0 to 1.4, p<0.001) over the subsequent 3 years' follow-up compared with baseline, respectively. This equates to a mean reduction of 3.7 ATI consultations over a 6-year period and approximates to a mean annual reduction of 0.6 ATI consultations per child, per year, over 6 years' follow-up. Children who underwent tonsillectomy were also much less likely to experience ≥3 ATI consultations during the first 3 years' follow-up (adjusted OR=0.12, 95% CI 0.08 to 0.17) and the subsequent 3 years' follow-up (adjusted OR=0.24, 95% CI 0.14 to 0.41). CONCLUSIONS: Among children with low baseline ATI rates, there was a statistically significant reduction in ATI consultation rates over 6 years' follow-up. However, the relatively modest clinical benefit needs to be weighed against the potential risks and complications associated with surgery

Proceedings of the workshop "Standard Model at the LHC" University College London 30 March - 1 April 2009

Proceedings from a 3-day discussion on Standard Model discoveries with the first LHC dataComment: 9 contributions to the proceedings of the LHC Standard Model worksho

M.I.T./Canadian Vestibular Experiments on the Spacelab-1 Mission. Part 1: Sensory Adaptation to Weightlessness and Readaptation to One-G: An Overview

Experiments on human spatial orientation were conducted on four crewmembers of Space Shuttle Spacelab Mission 1. The conceptual background of the project, the relationship among the experiments, and their relevance to a 'sensory reinterpretation hypothesis' are presented. Detailed experiment procedures and results are presented in the accompanying papers in this series. The overall findings are discussed as they pertain to the following aspects of hypothesized sensory reinterpretation in weightlessness: (1) utricular otolith afferent signals are reinterpreted as indicating head translation rather than tilt, (2) sensitivity of reflex responses to footward acceleration is reduced, and (3) increased weighting is given to visual and tactile cues in orientation perception and posture control. Results suggest increased weighting of visual cues and reduced weighting of graviceptor signals in weightlessness

Effect of lower limb massage on electromyography and force production of the knee extensors

Objective: To evaluate the effect of massage on force production and neuromuscular recruitment. Methods: Ten healthy male subjects performed isokinetic concentric contractions on the knee extensors at speeds of 60, 120, 180, and 240&deg;/s. These contractions were performed before and after a 30 minute intervention of either rest in the supine position or lower limb massage. Electromyography (EMG) and force data were captured during the contractions. Results: The change in isokinetic mean force due to the intervention showed a significant decrease (p&lt;0.05) at 60&deg;/s and a trend for a decrease (p  =  0.08) at 120&deg;/s as a result of massage compared with passive rest. However, there were no corresponding differences in any of the EMG data. A reduction in force production was shown at 60&deg;/s with no corresponding alteration in neuromuscular activity. Conclusions: The results suggests that motor unit recruitment and muscle fibre conduction velocity are not responsible for the observed reductions in force. Although experimental confirmation is necessary, a possible explanation is that massage induced force loss by influencing &ldquo;muscle architecture&rdquo;. However, it is possible that the differences were only found at 60&deg;/s because it was the first contraction after massage. Therefore muscle tension and architecture after massage and the duration of any massage effect need to be examined

Effect of suspension systems on the physiological and psychological responses to sub-maximal biking on simulated smooth and bumpy tracks

The aim of this study was to compare the physiological and psychological responses of cyclists riding on a hard tail bicycle and on a full suspension bicycle. Twenty males participated in two series of tests. A test rig held the front axle of the bicycle steady while the rear wheel rotated against a heavy roller with bumps (or no bumps) on its surface. In the first series of tests, eight participants (age 19 – 27 years, body mass 65 – 82 kg) were tested on both the full suspension and hard tail bicycles with and without bumps fitted to the roller. The second series of test repeated the bump tests with a further six participants (age 22 – 31 years, body mass 74 – 94 kg) and also involved an investigation of familiarization effects with the final six participants (age 21 – 30 years, body mass 64 – 80 kg). Heart rate, oxygen consumption (VO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;), rating of perceived exertion (RPE) and comfort were recorded during 10 min sub-maximal tests. Combined data for the bumps tests show that the full suspension bicycle was significantly different (P &#60; 0.001) from the hard tail bicycle on all four measures. Oxygen consumption, heart rate and RPE were lower on average by 8.7 (s &#61; 3.6) ml · kg&lt;sup&gt;-1&lt;/sup&gt; · min&lt;sup&gt;-1&lt;/sup&gt;, 32.1 (s &#61; 12.1) beats · min&lt;sup&gt;-1&lt;/sup&gt; and 2.6 (s &#61; 2.0) units, respectively. Comfort scores were higher (better) on average by 1.9 (s &#61; 0.8) units. For the no bumps tests, the only statistically significant difference (P &#61; 0.008) was in VO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;, which was lower for the hard tail bicycle by 2.2 (s &#61; 1.7) ml · kg-1 · min&lt;sup&gt;-1&lt;/sup&gt;. The results indicate that the full suspension bicycle provides a physiological and psychological advantage over the hard tail bicycle during simulated sub-maximal exercise on bumps

Effects of Soil Conservation Practices on Sediment Yield from Forest Road Ditches in Northern Iran

The fine-textured soil in forest road ditches is very susceptible to water erosion especially in rainy seasons in Hyrcanian forest. This study examined the yield of ditch segment-scale sediment after releasing two flow rates of 5 l s-1 and 10 l s-1 in segments treated by riprap (RR), grass cover by Festuca arundinacea L. (GC), compacted cotton geotextile (CG) and wooden wattle by local slash (WW). Sediment sampling from the runoff was carried out at the end of each segment every minute. Runoff flow velocity in different treatments was measured using an electromagnetic flow meter. Sediment concentration and runoff velocity in treatments of RR, GC, CG, WW was significantly lower than that of the control plot (Ctl). Increasing flow rate from 5 l s-1 to 10 l s-1 caused no significant change in sediment concentration (except for Ctl and RR) and runoff velocity (except for Ctl and CG), which means that some water might have penetrated into treated soil by RR, GC and WW and this is not acceptable in forest road maintenance practices. Sediment yield from RR (0.36 g l-1) and Ctl (0.50 g l-1) under the flow rate of 10 l s-1 was significantly higher than that of 5 l s-1 with values of 0.21 g l-1 and 0.38 g l-1, respectively. Minimum amount of sediment concentration was observed for CG (0.20 g l-1) with compacted ditch bed. Moreover, runoff velocity in CG and Ctl under the flow rate of 10 l s-1 was significantly higher than that of 5 l s-1. For a forest road with dimension 30×50 cm, slope of 5%, and clay soil with porosity of 57%, treatments of compacted CG can be used in ditch with low flow rates (5 l s-1) and high flow rate (10 l s-1) because of their high efficiency in reducing sediment yield

Qualitative aspects of developmental language impairment relate to language and literacy outcome in adulthood

Background: Developmental language disorder is a heterogeneous diagnostic category. Little research has compared the long-term outcomes of children with different subtypes of language impairment

Adult psychosocial outcomes of children with specific language impairment, pragmatic language impairment and autism

Background: The few studies that have tracked children with developmental language disorder to adulthood have found that these individuals experience considerable difficulties with psychosocial adjustment (for example, academic, vocational and social aptitude). Evidence that some children also develop autistic symptomatology over time has raised suggestions that developmental language disorder may be a high-functioning form of an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). It is not yet clear whether these outcomes vary between individuals with different subtypes of language impairment