Investigating the relationship between habitual physical activity and cardiovascular health in healthy and clinical populations

Physical activity (PA) is beneficial for arterial and autonomic health and, subsequently, cardiovascular disease risk. However, fundamental questions remain regarding the relationship between PA and health, the relative importance of the volume, intensity or composition of PA, and whether this differs in chronic conditions. Therefore, the aim of this thesis was to explore the influence of movement behaviours on key cardiovascular risk factors in healthy populations and those with T1D using novel methods and analysis techniques. Chapter 4 revealed that, contrary to expectation, the composition of daily movement and sleep behaviours was not associated with arterial stiffness in healthy children, with the reallocation of time between any behaviours not predicting significant change in arterial stiffness. It was hypothesised that this may be related to the measurement duration being insufficient to reflect habitual PA and its health-associated fluctuations. Therefore, a 28-day measurement period was used in Chapter 5, which revealed that, whilst there was minimal fluctuation in movement behaviours, PA metrics derived from 28 days were more strongly associated with cardiovascular health markers. Using a similar measurement protocol, children with type I diabetes (T1D) were found to engage in more light and less moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) than healthy peers and were characterised by poorer arterial stiffness and autonomic function (Chapter 6). Importantly, Chapter 6 suggested that the intensity of PA was more influential than the volume. Subsequently, Chapter 7 supported this contention, revealing that the reallocation of time from any behaviour to MVPA was the most potent stimulus to cardiovascular health in T1D. Overall, this thesis demonstrates that the composition and the relative importance of the volume and intensity of PA must be considered when investigating the relationship with health. The findings highlight key targets for future interventions seeking to enhance the cardiovascular function of youth, especially in T1D

Measuring Dose and Teaching Moment Cues in Speech Sound Disorder

Speech sound disorder (SSD) occurs when children have difficulties saying sounds appropriately and need specialized instruction by a speech-language pathologist (SLP) to be understood. The best treatment approach is not always known to SLPs due to the individual needs of a client and the effects of different elements within interventions. By researching teaching strategies and dose in therapy, we can explore procedures that result in better outcomes and speed the learning process (Baker et al., 2018). Thus, the purpose of this research is to describe and quantify the elements that occurred within treatment of SSD to answer: How can we measure (a) dose and (b) modalities of cues in speech therapy? The participants included two boys aged 6;2 and 3;8 with SSD who were observed via video recording during speech sound treatment. A coding scheme was developed to track dosage and the different types of cues used in each therapy session; both were counted in one-minute increments. Quantifying dosage consisted of tallying the prompts given by the clinician, the client\u27s response, and whether the client responded correctly or incorrectly. Documenting modalities of cues consisted of tallying multiple forms of cues given by the clinician: pause, verbal model, pointing, visual cue, prolongation/segmentation, tactile, and instruction. The results for dosage and modalities of cues will be presented across participants and sessions, and the clinical implications will be discussed. This research is clinically significant because increasing our understanding of treatment elements that occur within sessions may inform our understanding of treatment outcomes and help speech-language pathologists design more effective therapies

Investigating the development of children’s temporal memory across the primary school years

The examination of children’s knowledge of, and memory for, temporal information is an under-researched area. In particular, very few studies have directly examined the relationship between different aspects of temporal memory. The current thesis therefore aimed to explore whether there was a relationship between short-term, episodic and semantic temporal memory for sequencing, duration and dating performance across the primary school years. Experiment 1 revealed that children’s knowledge about time was independent of their ability to order elements within an experienced event, according to both the sequence in which the elements occurred and the duration of each element. Experiment 2 expanded upon this research; children’s short-term temporal memory for sequencing and duration was found to develop independently of their knowledge about time and their episodic memory for sequencing and duration. Finally, Experiment 4 aimed to see whether there was a relationship between children’s ability to date novel events, and their knowledge about dating concepts. This study found that these two abilities were not related during development. A further aim of this thesis was to explore whether novel methods could be employed to improve children’s temporal performance. Experiment 3 found that a counting strategy could increase the accuracy of children’s short-term duration reproductions, whilst a cumulative rehearsal technique aided children’s short-term sequencing recall. Other methods to aid temporal performance were also explored in Experiment 5; while a timeline tool was not found to increase children’s ability to sequence elements within an event, using a duration timeline was an effective way for children to represent the durations between daily activities. The implications of the current findings are highlighted, whilst further avenues of research are considered

Association of physical activity metrics with indicators of cardiovascular function and control in children with and without type 1 diabetes

ObjectiveLittle is known about the role of physical activity accumulation in cardiovascular disease risk for children with type 1 diabetes. Improved insight to identify factors of influence in key health outcomes could be provided by considering the entire physical activity profile.MethodsPulse wave velocity (PWV), augmentation index and heart rate variability (HRV) were assessed cross‐sectionally in children with (n = 29, 12.1 ± 2.1 years) and without (n = 19, 12.1 ± 2.1 years) type 1 diabetes. Time spent sedentary and in each physical activity intensity, intensity gradient and average acceleration were derived from seven consecutive days of monitoring with wrist‐worn accelerometry. Comparison between groups and influence of physical activity accumulation on cardiovascular metrics were explored with linear mixed models.ResultsDiabetic children demonstrated a higher PWV and a greater volume of light physical activity (p < 0.01), a more negative intensity gradient (p < 0.01), a lower average acceleration and less time in bouted moderate‐to‐vigorous physical activity (MVPA; p < 0.05). Overall, intensity gradient was strongly correlated with average acceleration, MVPA and bouted MVPA (r2 = 0.89, r2 = 0.80, r2 = 0.79, respectively; all p < 0.05), while average acceleration was correlated with MVPA and bouted MVPA (r2 = 0.85, r2 = 0.83, respectively; p < 0.05). Accounting for disease status, intensity gradient and average acceleration were significant predictors of HRV indices (p < 0.05) and PWV (p < 0.01, p < 0.05, respectively).ConclusionOverall, MVPA was most associated with central stiffness, highlighting the importance of meeting activity guidelines. Diabetic children demonstrated poorer cardiovascular health than their counterparts, likely attributable to a lower intensity and physical activity volume, identifying physical activity intensity as a key target for future interventions

Distinct Fermentation and Antibiotic Sensitivity Profiles Exist in Salmonellae of Canine and Human Origin

Background Salmonella enterica is a recognised cause of diarrhoea in dogs and humans, yet the potential for transfer of salmonellosis between dogs and their owners is unclear, with reported evidence both for and against Salmonella as a zoonotic pathogen. A collection of 174 S. enterica isolates from clinical infections in humans and dogs were analysed for serotype distribution, carbon source utilisation, chemical and antimicrobial sensitivity profiles. The aim of the study was to understand the degree of conservation in phenotypic characteristics of isolates across host species. Results Serovar distribution across human and canine isolates demonstrated nine serovars common to both host species, 24 serovars present in only the canine collection and 39 solely represented within the human collection. Significant differences in carbon source utilisation profiles and ampicillin, amoxicillin and chloramphenicol sensitivity profiles were detected in isolates of human and canine origin. Differences between the human and canine Salmonella collections were suggestive of evolutionary separation, with canine isolates better able to utilise several simple sugars than their human counterparts. Generally higher minimum inhibitory concentrations of three broad-spectrum antimicrobials, commonly used in veterinary medicine, were also observed in canine S. enterica isolates. Conclusions Differential carbon source utilisation and antimicrobial sensitivity profiles in pathogenic Salmonella isolated from humans and dogs are suggestive of distinct reservoirs of infection for these hosts. Although these findings do not preclude zoonotic or anthroponotic potential in salmonellae, the separation of carbon utilisation and antibiotic profiles with isolate source is indicative that infectious isolates are not part of a common reservoir shared frequently between these host species

Navigating the Rough Waters of Change : The New OhioLINK ETD Service

On January 14, 2013, the OhioLINK community was informed that the Electronic Theses & Dissertations (ETD) service was down for emergency maintenance. Few in the community could have predicted that single event would trigger a tidal wave of changes that ultimately resulted in a complete system rebuild. Panel participants will discuss the situation from their perspectives as OhioLINK ETD stakeholders. Implementing a new consortial system is a tricky undertaking even with adequate time to plan for the development. What additional pressures come into play when an emergency necessitates rapid development and implementation? What is the impact of changing to a new system in the middle of the academic year during the weeks leading up to the community’s busiest ETD season? How will the hundreds of papers submitted but not approved before the system went down be handled? What adjustments will stakeholders need to make in the short term to realize the long term benefit of an improved consortial ETD submission and approval system? What improvements have been realized with the new system? Communication is vitally important during times of transition. What successes and/or failures of communication can be identified in hindsight? How would the situation be different if the Ohio ETD community had not gathered in the summer of 2012 to discuss their needs and desires for a better system that provided a foundation for functional requirements? What are these new functions and how are they working so far? What future enhancements are on the horizon for the new system? The panelists will discuss these and other issues in a session designed for active audience participation

‘I Didn’t Have the Language Then’—A Qualitative Examination of Terminology in the Development of Non-Binary Identities

Introduction: Identities that lie outside of exclusively male and female, such as non-binary and genderqueer, have become increasingly more prevalent and visible within recent years. However, to date, the role of terminology in the development of such gender identities has been under-researched. This study aims to: (1) Examine what role terminology plays in coming to identify as non-binary. (2) Explore the continuing importance of terminology once a non-binary identity is established. Methods: This study uses thematic analysis on data produced from interviews with 16 participants who self-selected for the study and were recruited from several transgender and LGBTQ+ organisations on the basis that they identified outside the gender binary of male and female. Results: The analysis uncovered several key themes and sub-themes relating to terminology choice, encountering new terms and the process of identifying with new terminology, as well as becoming visible and understood by others. Conclusions: This study found that terminology is not only central in coming to identify as something other than exclusively male and female, it also remains an important factor when it comes to making a non-binary identity visible to others

Simulation of greenhouse gases following land-use change to bioenergy crops using the ECOSSE model : a comparison between site measurements and model predictions

This work contributes to the ELUM (Ecosystem Land Use Modelling & Soil Carbon GHG Flux Trial) project, which was commissioned and funded by the Energy Technologies Institute (ETI). We acknowledge the E-OBS data set from the EU-FP6 project ENSEMBLES (http://ensembles-eu.metoffice.com) and the data providers in the ECA&D project (http://www.ecad.eu).Peer reviewedPublisher PD