Postural balance under normal and altered sensory conditions in normal-weight and overweight children

Background Little or no research has been done in the overweight child on the relative contribution of multisensory information to maintain postural stability. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate postural balance control under normal and experimentally altered sensory conditions in normal-weight versus overweight children. Methods Sixty children were stratified into a younger (7–9 yr) and an older age group (10–12 yr). Participants were also classified as normal-weight (n = 22) or overweight (n = 38), according to the international BMI cut-off points for children. Postural stability was assessed during quiet bilateral stance in four sensory conditions (eyes open or closed, normal or reduced plantar sensation), using a Kistler force plate to quantify COP dynamics. Coefficients of variation were calculated as well to describe intra-individual variability. Findings Removal of vision resulted in systematically higher amounts of postural sway, but no significant BMI group differences were demonstrated across sensory conditions. However, under normal conditions lower plantar cutaneous sensation was associated with higher COP velocities and maximal excursion of the COP in the medial-lateral direction for the overweight group. Regardless of condition, higher variability was shown in the overweight children within the 7–9 yr old subgroup for postural sway velocity, and more specifically medial–lateral velocity. Interpretation In spite of these subtle differences, results did not establish any clear underlying sensory organization impairments that may affect standing balance performance in overweight children compared to normal-weight peers. Consequently, it is believed that other factors account for overweight children's functional balance deficiencies.

The role of vision in obese and normal-weight children's gait control

Previous research has suggested that perceptual-motor difficulties may account for obese children's lower motor competence; however, specific evidence is currently lacking. Therefore, this study examined the effect of altered visual conditions on spatiotemporal and kinematic gait parameters in obese versus normal-weight children. Thirty-two obese and normal-weight children (11.2 ± 1.5 years) walked barefoot on an instrumented walkway at constant self-selected speed during LIGHT and DARK conditions. Three-dimensional motion analysis was performed to calculate spatiotemporal parameters, as well as sagittal trunk segment and lower extremity joint angles at heel-strike and toe-off. Self-selected speed did not significantly differ between groups. In the DARK condition, all participants walked at a significantly slower speed, decreased stride length, and increased stride width. Without normal vision, obese children had a more pronounced increase in relative double support time compared to the normal-weight group, resulting in a significantly greater percentage of the gait cycle spent in stance. Walking in the DARK, both groups showed greater forward tilt of the trunk and restricted hip movement. All participants had increased knee flexion at heel-strike, as well as decreased knee extension and ankle plantarflexion at toe-off in the DARK condition. The removal of normal vision affected obese children's temporal gait pattern to a larger extent than that of normal-weight peers. Results suggest an increased dependency on vision in obese children to control locomotion. Next to the mechanical problem of moving excess mass, a different coupling between perception and action appears to be governing obese children's motor coordination and control.

Promoting healthy weight in the Central Highlands

This paper provides an overview of the Healthy Weight Program as delivered by the Bidgerdii Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Health Service through its Aboriginal Health Workers in the Central Highlands of Central Queensland, Australia.

Children’s food and activity patterns following a six-month child weight management program

Objective To describe the impact of a parent-led, family focused child weight management program on the food intake and activity patterns of pre-pubertal children. Methods n assessor-blinded, randomized controlled trial involving 111 (64% female) overweight, pre-pubertal children 6 to 9 years of age randomly assigned to parenting-skills training plus intensive lifestyle education, parenting-skills training alone, or a 12-month wait-listed control. Study outcomes were assessed at baseline, 6 months, and 12 months. This paper presents data on food intake assessed via a validated 54-item parent completed dietary questionnaire and activity behaviours assessed via a parent-report 20-item activity questionnaire. Results Intake of energy-dense nutrient poor foods was lower in both intervention groups at 6 months (mean difference, P+DA -1.5 serves [CI -2.0;-1.0]; P -1.0 serves [-2.0;-0.5]) and 12 months (mean difference P+DA -1.0 serves [CI -2.0;-0.5]; P -1.0 serves [-1.5; 0.0]) compared to baseline. Intake of vegetables, fruit, breads and cereals, meat and alternatives and dairy foods remained unchanged. Regardless of study group there were significant reductions over time in the reported time spent engaged in small screen activities and an increase in the time reported spent in active play. Conclusion Child weight management intervention that promotes food intake in line with national dietary guidelines achieves a reduction in children’s intake of energy dense, nutrient poor foods. This was achieved without compromising intake of nutrient-rich food and changes in were maintained even once the intervention ceased.

Automatic domain ontology extraction for context-sensitive opinion mining

Automated analysis of the sentiments presented in online consumer feedbacks can facilitate both organizations’ business strategy development and individual consumers’ comparison shopping. Nevertheless, existing opinion mining methods either adopt a context-free sentiment classification approach or rely on a large number of manually annotated training examples to perform context sensitive sentiment classification. Guided by the design science research methodology, we illustrate the design, development, and evaluation of a novel fuzzy domain ontology based contextsensitive opinion mining system. Our novel ontology extraction mechanism underpinned by a variant of Kullback-Leibler divergence can automatically acquire contextual sentiment knowledge across various product domains to improve the sentiment analysis processes. Evaluated based on a benchmark dataset and real consumer reviews collected from Amazon.com, our system shows remarkable performance improvement over the context-free baseline.

Assignment of reversion on put option contained in a lease : what is the effect?

Justice Mullins of the Queensland Supreme Court recently considered the status of a put option contained in a registered lease in circumstances where there was an assignment of the reversion. The matter arose for determination in Denham Bros Ltd v W Freestone Leasing Pty Ltd [2002] QSC 307. The decision is of interest as a lease containing a put option, exercisable by a landlord, is perhaps less commonly encountered than a lease containing a call option, exercisable by a tenant.

Sustainable assessment for large science classes : non-multiple choice, randomised assignments through a Learning Management System

This paper reports on the development of a tool that generates randomised, non-multiple choice assessment within the BlackBoard Learning Management System interface. An accepted weakness of multiple-choice assessment is that it cannot elicit learning outcomes from upper levels of Biggs’ SOLO taxonomy. However, written assessment items require extensive resources for marking, and are susceptible to copying as well as marking inconsistencies for large classes. This project developed an assessment tool which is valid, reliable and sustainable and that addresses the issues identified above. The tool provides each student with an assignment assessing the same learning outcomes, but containing different questions, with responses in the form of words or numbers. Practice questions are available, enabling students to obtain feedback on their approach before submitting their assignment. Thus, the tool incorporates automatic marking (essential for large classes), randomised tasks to each student (reducing copying), the capacity to give credit for working (feedback on the application of theory), and the capacity to target higher order learning outcomes by requiring students to derive their answers rather than choosing them. Results and feedback from students are presented, along with technical implementation details.

Design and development of automatic visual inspection system for PCB manufacturing

Inspection of solder joints has been a critical process in the electronic manufacturing industry to reduce manufacturing cost, improve yield, and ensure product quality and reliability. This paper proposes two inspection modules for an automatic solder joint classification system. The “front-end” inspection system includes illumination normalisation, localisation and segmentation. The “back-end” inspection involves the classification of solder joints using the Log Gabor filter and classifier fusion. Five different levels of solder quality with respect to the amount of solder paste have been defined. The Log Gabor filter has been demonstrated to achieve high recognition rates and is resistant to misalignment. This proposed system does not need any special illumination system, and the images are acquired by an ordinary digital camera. This system could contribute to the development of automated non-contact, non-destructive and low cost solder joint quality inspection systems.

Living well with diabetes: a randomized controlled trial of a telephone-delivered intervention for maintenance of weight loss, physical activity and glycaemic control in adults with type 2 diabetes

Background By 2025, it is estimated that approximately 1.8 million Australian adults (approximately 8.4% of the adult population) will have diabetes, with the majority having type 2 diabetes. Weight management via improved physical activity and diet is the cornerstone of type 2 diabetes management. However, the majority of weight loss trials in diabetes have evaluated short-term, intensive clinic-based interventions that, while producing short-term outcomes, have failed to address issues of maintenance and broad population reach. Telephone-delivered interventions have the potential to address these gaps. Methods/Design Using a two-arm randomised controlled design, this study will evaluate an 18-month, telephone-delivered, behavioural weight loss intervention focussing on physical activity, diet and behavioural therapy, versus usual care, with follow-up at 24 months. Three-hundred adult participants, aged 20-75 years, with type 2 diabetes, will be recruited from 10 general practices via electronic medical records search. The Social-Cognitive Theory driven intervention involves a six-month intensive phase (4 weekly calls and 11 fortnightly calls) and a 12-month maintenance phase (one call per month). Primary outcomes, assessed at 6, 18 and 24 months, are: weight loss, physical activity, and glycaemic control (HbA1c), with weight loss and physical activity also measured at 12 months. Incremental cost-effectiveness will also be examined. Study recruitment began in February 2009, with final data collection expected by February 2013. Discussion This is the first study to evaluate the telephone as the primary method of delivering a behavioural weight loss intervention in type 2 diabetes. The evaluation of maintenance outcomes (6 months following the end of intervention), the use of accelerometers to objectively measure physical activity, and the inclusion of a cost-effectiveness analysis will advance the science of broad reach approaches to weight control and health behaviour change, and will build the evidence base needed to advocate for the translation of this work into population health practice.

The effects of weight loss strategies on gastric emptying and appetite control

The gastrointestinal tract plays an important role in the improved appetite control and weight loss in response to bariatric surgery. Other strategies which similarly alter gastrointestinal responses to food intake could contribute to successful weight management. The aim of this review is to discuss the effects of surgical, pharmacological and behavioural weight loss interventions on gastrointestinal targets of appetite control, including gastric emptying. Gastrointestinal peptides are also discussed because of their integrative relationship in appetite control. This review shows that different strategies exert diverse effects and there is no consensus on the optimal strategy for manipulating gastric emptying to improve appetite control. Emerging evidence from surgical procedures (e.g., sleeve gastrectomy and Roux en-Y gastric bypass) suggests a faster emptying rate and earlier delivery of nutrients to the distal small intestine may improve appetite control. Energy restriction slows gastric emptying, while the effect of exercise-induced weight loss on gastric emptying remains to be established. The limited evidence suggests that chronic exercise is associated with faster gastric emptying which we hypothesise will impact on appetite control and energy balance. Understanding how behavioural weight loss interventions (e.g., diet and exercise) alter gastrointestinal targets of appetite control may be important to improve their success in weight management.

A systematic review of studies on socioeconomic inequalities in dietary intakes associated with weight gain and overweight/obesity conducted among European adults

This Review examined socioeconomic inequalities in intakes of dietary factors associated with weight gain, overweight/obesity among adults in Europe. Literature searches of studies published between 1990 and 2007 examining socioeconomic position (SEP) and the consumption of energy, fat, fibre, fruit, vegetables, energy-rich drinks and meal patterns were conducted. Forty-seven articles met the inclusion criteria. The direction of associations between SEP and energy intakes were inconsistent. Approximately half the associations examined between SEP and fat intakes showed higher total fat intakes among socioeconomically disadvantaged groups. There was some evidence that these groups consume a diet lower in fibre. The most consistent evidence of dietary inequalities was for fruit and vegetable consumption; lower socioeconomic groups were less likely to consume fruit and vegetables. Differences in energy, fat and fibre intakes (when found) were small-to-moderate in magnitude; however, differences were moderate-to-large for fruit and vegetable intakes. Socioeconomic inequalities in the consumption of energy-rich drinks and meal patterns were relatively under-studied compared with other dietary factors. There were no regional or gender differences in the direction and magnitude of the inequalities in the dietary factors examined. The findings suggest that dietary behaviours may contribute to socioeconomic inequalities in overweight/obesity in Europe. However, there is only consistent evidence that fruit and vegetables may make an important contribution to inequalities in weight status across European regions.