Maternal correlates of young children's physical activity across periods of the day

OBJECTIVES: Associations between maternal correlates and young children's physical activity levels across the whole day and the segmented day were examined.
DESIGN: Cross-sectional study
METHODS: Participants were 136 mothers and their 1-3 year old children recruited between July 2013 and March 2014. Mothers reported time spent providing physical activity opportunities for their child, co-participating in and modelling physical activity and sedentary behaviours during the morning, afternoon and evening. Participants wore ActiGraph GT3X (mothers) and GT3X+ (children) accelerometers concurrently for seven consecutive days and the time spent in light- (LPA), moderate- to vigorous- (MVPA) and total (LMVPA) physical activity were assessed. Two-level (family; recruitment group) multivariate models examined associations between maternal correlates (including maternal objectively-assessed sedentary time [ST] and physical activity) and children's physical activity.
RESULTS: Maternal self-reported co-participation in sedentary behaviour and provision of child opportunities for physical activity were associated with children's physical activity; associations varied by period and physical activity intensity. During the morning period, mothers' objectively assessed ST was negatively associated with children's MVPA and LMVPA while her LPA was positively associated with children's LPA, MVPA and LMVPA. Mothers' MVPA was negatively associated with children's LPA and LMVPA during the evening period.
CONCLUSIONS: Maternal correlates of young children's physical activity may be period- and intensity-specific. Programmes promoting physical activity for families may need to consider incorporating strategies to reduce mother-child co-participation in sedentary behaviour, increase mothers' provision of opportunities to be active and increase mothers' own LPA over ST during certain periods of the day.

A systematic review of the prevalence of sedentary behavior during the after-school period among children aged 5-18 years

BACKGROUND: Independent of physical activity levels, youth sedentary behaviors (SB) have negative health outcomes. SB prevalence estimates during discretionary periods of the day (e.g., after-school), inform the need for targeted period-specific interventions. This systematic review aimed to determine children's and adolescents' SB prevalence during the after-school period.

METHODS: A computerized search was conducted in October 2015 (analysed November 2015). Inclusion criteria were: published in a peer-reviewed English journal; participants aged 5-18 years; measured overall after-school sedentary time (ST) objectively, and/or specific after-school SBs (e.g., TV viewing) objectively or subjectively; and provided the percentage of the after-school period spent in ST/SB or duration of behavior and period to calculate this. Where possible, findings were analyzed by location (e.g., after-school care/'other' locations). The PRISMA guidelines were followed.

RESULTS: Twenty-nine studies were included: 24 included children (≤12 years), four assessed adolescents (>12 years) and one included both; 20 assessed ST and nine assessed SB. On average, children spent 41% and 51% of the after-school period in ST when at after-school care and other locations respectively. Adolescents spent 57% of the after-school period in ST. SBs that children and adolescents perform include: TV viewing (20% of the period), non-screen based SB (including homework; 20%), screen-based SB (including TV viewing; 18%), homework/academics (13%), motorised transport (12%), social SB (9%), and screen-based SB (excluding TV viewing; 6%).

CONCLUSION: Children spent up to half of the after-school period in ST and this is higher among adolescents. A variety of screen- and non-screen based SBs are performed after school, providing key targets for interventions.

Physical activity levels and patterns of 19-month-old children

Purpose: It is a commonly held perception that most young children are naturally active and meet physical activity recommendations. However, there is no scientific evidence available on which to confirm or refute such perceptions. The purpose of this study was to describe the physical activity levels and patterns of Australian toddlers.


Methods: Physical activity and demographic data of two hundred ninety-five 19-month-old children from the Melbourne InFANT Program were measured using accelerometers and parent surveys. Validated cut points of 192–1672 and >1672 counts per minute were used to determine time spent in light- (LPA) and moderate-to-vigorous- (MVPA) intensity physical activity, respectively. To be included in the analysis, children were required to have four valid days of accelerometer data to provide an acceptable (>0.70) reliability estimate of LPA and MVPA. Physical activity data for different periods of the day were examined.


Results: On average, toddlers engaged in 184 min of LPA and 47 min of MVPA daily, and 90.5% met the current Australian physical activity recommendations for 0- to 5-yr-olds (180 min of LPA/MVPA per day). Physical activity levels during mid morning and mid afternoon were higher than those during other periods. Physical activity patterns for boys and girls were similar, although boys engaged in more physical activity during the morning hours than girls did.


Conclusions: Most children meet the physical activity recommendations, although the majority of activity undertaken in the study was of light intensity. Boys were more active than girls were in the morning hours, but there were no differences between sexes over the entire day. Certain periods of the day may hold more promise for intervention implementation than others do.

Influence of the blink interval on tear meniscus height in soft contact lens and nonlens wearers

Purpose: Tear meniscus height (TMH) is an indirect measurement of tear film volume. This study investigated the temporal changes in the TMH during the blink interval in the morning (8–9 am) and at the end of the day (5–6 pm) in both soft contact lens (CL) and nonlens wearers (NLW).

Methods: Fifty participants (25 CL; 25 NLW) were evaluated for their subjective symptoms, TMH, noninvasive break up time, and bulbar hyperemia at the am and pm visits on the same day. The TMH was measured at set intervals between 2 and 15 sec during the blink interval, using an optical coherence tomographer.

Results: The NLW group revealed no changes in a variety of symptoms during the day, whereas the CL group reported an increase in dryness (P=0.03) and grittiness (P=0.02) over the day. For both groups, the TMH and calculated tear meniscus volume revealed lower values immediately after the blink and increased progressively afterwards, mainly due to reflex tearing. The am tear meniscus volume values tended to be higher than the pm values for both groups, but this was not significant (NLW P=0.13; CL P=0.82). Noninvasive break up time deteriorated during the day for both groups but was only significant for the CL group (P=0.002), whereas bulbar hyperemia revealed no statistically significant change for either group.

Conclusions: Reflex tearing may play a substantial role in the TMH differences observed over the blink interval. Standardization of the time when a TMH measurement is performed will be valuable in comparing tear film clinical studies.

The War Memoirs: Some origins of the thought of W.R. Bion

The work of W. R. Bion changed the shape of psychoanalytic theory in fundamental ways, one of the most important of which was Bion's insight into the nature of normal projective identification. No other psychoanalytic theorist has Bion's ability to represent the horrors of psychic abandonment and the converse, the absolute necessity of the presence of another mind for psychic survival. Through a discussion of Bion's War Memoirs 1917-1919 (Bion, 1997), Attacks on linking and A theory of thinking (1993), this paper explores the link between war, masculinity, the maternal and Bion's sensitivity to the significance of everyday interpersonal contact. It is argued that Bion's apocalyptic experiences as a teenage tank commander gave him shattering insight into the extent to which mind is inter-mind, self is inter-self. Bion's life writing has the quality of survivor insight: 'And only I am escaped alone to tell thee' (Job 1: 14-19), as he returns repeatedly to the events of the day when he 'died ', 8 August 1918. His insight into the elemental passions nature of love, hate and mindlessness are borne of his experiences on the battlefield, and exquisitely crystallized in his repeated explorations of an encounter with a dying soldier.

Patterns of objectively measured moderate-to-vigorous physical activity in preschool children

Identifying periods of the day which are susceptible to varying levels of physical activity (PA) may help identify key times to intervene and potentially change preschool children's PA behaviors. This study assessed variability of objectively measured moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) during weekdays and weekend days among preschool children.

Within-and between-day associations between children's sitting and physical activity time

Background: The objective of this study was to examine whether increased levels of sitting time and physical activity in one period (within-day) or on one day (between-day) were predictive of lower levels in these behaviours in the following period or day among children. Methods: Children aged 8-11 years from 8 primary schools located in Melbourne, Australia, wore an activPAL for 7 consecutive days (n = 235; 53 % boys). Sitting, standing and stepping time were derived for each day and for specific periods on weekdays and weekend days. Multilevel analyses were conducted using generalised linear latent and mixed models to estimate associations between temporally adjacent values (i.e. pairs of days; pairs of periods within-days) between the outcome variables. Results: Significant associations were observed between temporally adjacent days and periods of the day. On any given day, an additional 10 min of stepping was associated with fewer minutes of stepping (~9 min; 95 % CI: -11.5 to -6.2 min) and standing (15 min; 95 % CI: -18.8 to -11.1 min) the following day. Greater time spent sitting during one period, regardless of being a weekday or weekend day, was associated with less time sitting and more time standing and stepping in the following period. Conclusions: The direction of the results suggest that children appeared to compensate for increased sitting, standing, and stepping time both within- and between-days. The implications of such associations for the design and delivery of interventions require consideration.

Temporal dynamics of the circadian heart rate following low and high volume exercise training in sedentary male subjects

Purpose: Increased risk of arrhythmic events occurs at certain times during the circadian cycle with the highest risk being in the second and fourth quarter of the day. Exercise improves treatment outcome in individuals with cardiovascular disease. How different exercise protocols affect the circadian rhythm and the associated decrease in adverse cardiovascular risk over the circadian cycle has not been shown. Methods: Fifty sedentary male participants were randomized into an 8-week high volume and moderate volume training and a control group. Heart rate was recorded using Polar Electronics and investigated with Cosinor analysis and by Poincaré plot derived features of SD1, SD2 and the complex correlation measure (CCM) at 1-h intervals over the 24-h period. Results: Moderate exercise significantly increased vagal modulation and the temporal dynamics of the heart rate in the second quarter of the circadian cycle (p = 0.004 and p = 0.007 respectively). High volume exercise had a similar effect on vagal output (p = 0.003) and temporal dynamics (p = 0.003). Cosinor analysis confirms that the circadian heart rate displays a shift in the acrophage following moderate and high volume exercise from before waking (1st quarter) to after waking (2nd quarter of day). Conclusions: Our results suggest that exercise shifts vagal influence and increases temporal dynamics of the heart rate to the 2nd quarter of the day and suggest that this may be the underlying physiological change leading to a decrease in adverse arrhythmic events during this otherwise high-risk period.

How ophthlamic day surgery patients convalesce at home : an exploration of the salient issues

Cataract surgery is the most commonly performed surgical procedure in Australia. In the next 10-15 years, the number of people needing this surgery is expected to double, This article is based on a study, which explored the types and levels of symptoms experienced by patients post-ophthalmic surgery. Patients were asked to complete two instruments: a 'Postoperative Symptoms Diary' and a follow up 'Telephone Survey Questionnaire'. Eight males and 15 females (n = 23) with a mean age of 80.5 years were recruited. The findings revealed that patients' symptom levels decreased over time, except for tiredness and moving around which increased slightly on Day 4 post-operatively. A carer was required for an average of 2.3 days. This study highlighted the discrepancies in current day surgery literature, which recommend that a carer is needed during only the first 24 hours post-operatively.

Comparison of the color stability and lipid oxidative stability of fresh vacuum packaged lamb muscle containing elevated omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acid levels from dietary manipulation

A series of three experiments were conducted with second cross ([Merino×Border Leicester]×Poll Dorset) wether lambs to evaluate the effects of dietary treatments on manipulation of muscle long-chain (LC) omega-3 fatty acids (FA) on the color stability and oxidative stability of fresh and vacuum packaged lamb. At the end of 7-, 6- and 6-week experimental periods for experiments (Exp.) 1–3 respectively, lambs were slaughtered at a commercial abattoir. At 24 h post-mortem, muscle longissimus lumborum (LL) and longissimus thoracis (LT) were removed and evaluated for color and lipid oxidative stability under specified commercial storage and display condition. Of the dietary supplements used, fish meal and fish oil moderately (P<0.01) and markedly (P<0.001) increased muscle omega-3 FA content, while both protected canola seed (P<0.001) and protected sunflower meal protein significantly (P<0.02) increased muscle omega-6 FA content or ratio of omega-6/omega-3 of the longissimus muscle. In all experiments, the substantial increase (P<0.001) in muscle LC omega-3 and omega-6 FA had no consistent significant effect on color values (redness (a*), yellowness (b*) and lightness (L*)) for fresh and vacuum packaged lamb over a 6-day display period. Lipid oxidation, determined by the levels of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) indicated the enrichment of muscle polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) levels in lambs did not produce significant differences resulting either from main treatment effects or for treatment×day&times;type interactions (where type was fresh and vacuum packaged). Present results demonstrated the color and lipid oxidative stability of lamb longissimus muscle during refrigerated display was not affected by enhanced levels of omega-3 and omega-6 FA due to dietary treatments.

Comparison of the color stability and lipid oxidative stability of fresh and vacuum packaged lamb muscle containing elevated omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acid levels from dietary manipulation

A series of three experiments were conducted with second cross ([Merino×Border Leicester]×Poll Dorset) wether lambs to evaluate the effects of dietary treatments on manipulation of muscle long-chain (LC) omega-3 fatty acids (FA) on the color stability and oxidative stability of fresh and vacuum packaged lamb. At the end of 7-, 6- and 6-week experimental periods for experiments (Exp.) 1–3 respectively, lambs were slaughtered at a commercial abattoir. At 24 h post-mortem, muscle longissimus lumborum (LL) and longissimus thoracis (LT) were removed and evaluated for color and lipid oxidative stability under specified commercial storage and display condition. Of the dietary supplements used, fish meal and fish oil moderately (P<0.01) and markedly (P<0.001) increased muscle omega-3 FA content, while both protected canola seed (P<0.001) and protected sunflower meal protein significantly (P<0.02) increased muscle omega-6 FA content or ratio of omega-6/omega-3 of the longissimus muscle. In all experiments, the substantial increase (P<0.001) in muscle LC omega-3 and omega-6 FA had no consistent significant effect on color values (redness (a*), yellowness (b*) and lightness (L*)) for fresh and vacuum packaged lamb over a 6-day display period. Lipid oxidation, determined by the levels of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) indicated the enrichment of muscle polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) levels in lambs did not produce significant differences resulting either from main treatment effects or for treatment×day&times;type interactions (where type was fresh and vacuum packaged). Present results demonstrated the color and lipid oxidative stability of lamb longissimus muscle during refrigerated display was not affected by enhanced levels of omega-3 and omega-6 FA due to dietary treatments.

Comparison of the color stability and lipid oxidative stability fo fresh and vacuum packaged lamb muscle containing elevated omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acid levels from dietary manipulation

A series of three experiments were conducted with second cross ([Merino×Border Leicester]×Poll Dorset) wether lambs to evaluate the effects of dietary treatments on manipulation of muscle long-chain (LC) omega-3 fatty acids (FA) on the color stability and oxidative stability of fresh and vacuum packaged lamb. At the end of 7-, 6- and 6-week experimental periods for experiments (Exp.) 1–3 respectively, lambs were slaughtered at a commercial abattoir. At 24 h post-mortem, muscle longissimus lumborum (LL) and longissimus thoracis (LT) were removed and evaluated for color and lipid oxidative stability under specified commercial storage and display condition. Of the dietary supplements used, fish meal and fish oil moderately (P<0.01) and markedly (P<0.001) increased muscle omega-3 FA content, while both protected canola seed (P<0.001) and protected sunflower meal protein significantly (P<0.02) increased muscle omega-6 FA content or ratio of omega-6/omega-3 of the longissimus muscle. In all experiments, the substantial increase (P<0.001) in muscle LC omega-3 and omega-6 FA had no consistent significant effect on color values (redness (a*), yellowness (b*) and lightness (L*)) for fresh and vacuum packaged lamb over a 6-day display period. Lipid oxidation, determined by the levels of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) indicated the enrichment of muscle polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) levels in lambs did not produce significant differences resulting either from main treatment effects or for treatment×day&times;type interactions (where type was fresh and vacuum packaged). Present results demonstrated the color and lipid oxidative stability of lamb longissimus muscle during refrigerated display was not affected by enhanced levels of omega-3 and omega-6 FA due to dietary treatments.