The measurement reliability and equivalence of print versus online versions of the Youth Activity Profile.

Purpose: The Youth Activity Profile (YAP) is a 7-day self-report designed to quantify physical activity and sedentary behaviors among youth. This study evaluated the reliability of the online version of the YAP and equivalence with the paper-based version.

Method: A total of 2,490 participants from 17 schools in Iowa and Texas completed the YAP.

The null need not be nil: Clarifying the parallel arbitrariness of difference testing and equivalence testing.

In every statistical analysis, a critical step is to determine the smallest effect size of interest, namely, the arbitrary dividing line between meaningful and negligible results. Different tests address this in different ways, and the contrasting approaches can sometimes lead to confusion. We discuss a key example of such confusion, whereby equivalence testing is perceived to be more arbitrary than difference testing.

A full-factorial test of motivational and volitional intervention strategies for promoting exercise habit formation and exercise maintenance among new users of an online exercise class platform.

Interventions often fail to achieve long-term behavioral maintenance. Utilizing motivational and volitional strategies to promote behavioral maintenance factors may improve this. Using a full-factorial experiment, we tested the effects of three intervention components (focused on intrinsic motivation and identity, exercise preparation habit, and exercise instigation habit) on exercise participation over a year, among new users (N = 751; 91% identifying as female, 54% identifying as White race) of a global, online exercise class platform, run by Les Mills International Ltd, called LM+.

Study protocol: process and outcome evaluation of the Walk with Ease program for fall prevention.

Background: Falls are the leading cause of injury related morbidity and mortality in older adults. Primary and secondary prevention strategies that address modifiable risk factors are critically important to reduce the number of falls and fall related injuries. A number of evidence-based fall prevention programs are available, but few offer potential for broad dissemination and public health impact due to implementation barriers, such as a need for trained program leaders and clinicians.

Sustained Delivery of Olopatadine from Vitamin-E Loaded Contact Lenses.

Topical antihistamines, such as olopatadine hydrochloride, an H1 receptor antagonist, are commonly prescribed for treating allergic conjunctivitis. Drug delivery via eye drops has many deficiencies including a short residence time due to tear drainage via the nasolacrimal duct, which results in a low bioavailability and potential for side effects. These deficiencies could be mitigated by a drug-eluting contact lens such as the recently approved ACUVUE THERAVISION™ WITH KETOTIFEN which is a daily disposable etafilcon, a drug-eluting contact lens with ketotifen (19 μg per lens).

Prevalence and Risk Assessment of Aflatoxin in Iowa Corn during a Drought Year.

Warm temperatures and drought conditions in the United States (US) Corn Belt in 2012 raised concern for widespread aflatoxin (AFL) contamination in Iowa corn. To identify the prevalence of AFL in the 2012 corn crop, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) conducted a sample of Iowa corn to assess the incidence and severity of AFL contamination. Samples were obtained from grain elevators in all of Iowa's 99 counties, representing nine crop reporting districts (CRD), and 396 samples were analyzed by IDALS using rapid test methods.

Monitoring the temporal changes in herbicide-resistant Amaranthus tuberculatus: a landscape-scale probability-based estimation in Iowa.

Background: A landscape-scale probability-based sampling of Iowa soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] fields was conducted in 2013 and 2019; Amaranthus tuberculatus [Moq.

WhoseEgg: classification software for invasive carp eggs.

The collection of fish eggs is a commonly used technique for monitoring invasive carp. Genetic identification is the most trusted method for identifying fish eggs but is expensive and slow. Recent work suggests random forest models could provide an inexpensive method for identifying invasive carp eggs based on morphometric egg characteristics.

Factors related to fish mercury concentrations in Iowa lakes.

Mercury contamination in aquatic ecosystems is a global concern due to the health risks of consuming contaminated fishes. Fish mercury concentrations are influenced by a range of biotic and abiotic factors that vary among regions, but these complex interactions are difficult to disentangle. We collected bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus), white and black crappie (Pomoxis annularis; P.

Marginal inference for hierarchical generalized linear mixed models with patterned covariance matrices using the Laplace approximation.

We develop hierarchical models and methods in a fully parametric approach to generalized linear mixed models for any patterned covariance matrix. The Laplace approximation is used to marginally estimate covariance parameters by integrating over all fixed and latent random effects. The Laplace approximation relies on Newton-Raphson updates, which also leads to predictions for the latent random effects.

A cluster-randomized trial comparing two SWITCH implementation support strategies for school wellness intervention effectiveness.

Background: The School Wellness Integration Targeting Child Health (SWITCH) intervention has demonstrated feasibility as an implementation approach to help schools facilitate changes in students' physical activity (PA), sedentary screen time (SST), and dietary intake (DI). This study evaluated the comparative effectiveness of enhanced (individualized) implementation and standard (group-based) implementation.

Methods: Twenty-two Iowa elementary schools participated, with each receiving standardized training (wellness conference and webinars).

Calibration of the Online Youth Activity Profile Assessment for School-Based Applications.

A balance between the feasibility and validity of measures is an important consideration for physical activity research - particularly in school-based research with youth. The present study extends previously tested calibration methods to develop and test new equations for an online version of the Youth Activity Profile (YAP) tool, a self-report tool designed for school applications. Data were collected across different regions and seasons to develop more robust, generalizable equations.

Lengthening of maize maturity time is not a widespread climate change adaptation strategy in the US Midwest.

Increasing temperatures in the US Midwest are projected to reduce maize yields because warmer temperatures hasten reproductive development and, as a result, shorten the grain fill period. However, there is widespread expectation that farmers will mitigate projected yield losses by planting longer season hybrids that lengthen the grain fill period. Here, we ask: (a) how current hybrid maturity length relates to thermal availability of the local climate, and (b) if farmers are shifting to longer season hybrids in response to a warming climate.

Precipitation Impacts Dissemination of Three Sooty Blotch and Flyspeck Taxa on Apple Fruit.

The spatial dissemination of three prevalent taxa of sooty blotch and flyspeck (SBFS) fungi under several levels of precipitation was compared during 2015 and 2016 in an Iowa apple orchard. Overhead irrigation was used to supplement ambient precipitation in order to insure SBFS spore dissemination and colony development. There were five irrigation levels, involving 1-min-long periods of irrigation that were imposed either once or twice per hour at intervals of 3, 6, or 12 h, as well as a nonirrigated control.

Calibration and Validation of the Youth Activity Profile as a Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour Surveillance Tool for English Youth.

Self-reported youth physical activity (PA) is typically overestimated. We aimed to calibrate and validate a self-report tool among English youth. Four-hundred-and-two participants (aged 9-16 years; 212 boys) wore SenseWear Armband Mini devices (SWA) for eight days and completed the self-report Youth Activity Profile (YAP) on the eighth day.

PFOA and PFOS levels in microwave paper packaging between 2005 and 2018.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances are synthetic environmental pollutants previously used for packaging applications as a grease, oil, and water-resistant coating. Exposure reported in previous studies highlighting potential concerns with public health. This study evaluated performance of coated paper packaging used for microwave popcorn, snacks, and sandwich bags for presence of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS).

Changes in sedentary time are associated with changes in mental wellbeing over 1 year in young adults.

Excessive sedentary time is related to poor mental health. However, much of the current literature uses cross-sectional data and/or self-reported sedentary time, and does not assess factors such as sedentary bout length. To address these limitations, the influence of objectively measured sedentary time including sedentary bout length (i.

A Primer on the Use of Equivalence Testing for Evaluating Measurement Agreement.

Purpose: Statistical equivalence testing is more appropriate than conventional tests of difference to assess the validity of physical activity (PA) measures. This article presents the underlying principles of equivalence testing and gives three examples from PA and fitness assessment research.

Methods: The three examples illustrate different uses of equivalence tests.

Adapted Sojourn Models to Estimate Activity Intensity in Youth: A Suite of Tools.

Unlabelled: The challenges of using physical activity data from accelerometers have been compounded with the recent focus on wrist-worn monitors and raw acceleration (as opposed to activity counts).

Purpose: This study developed and systematically evaluated a suite of new accelerometer processing models for youth.

Methods: Four adaptations of the Sojourn method were developed using data from a laboratory-based experiment in which youth (N = 54) performed structured activity routines.

Evaluating the Performance of a Relative Humidity-Based Warning System for Sooty Blotch and Flyspeck in Iowa.

A warning system for the sooty blotch and flyspeck (SBFS) fungal disease complex of apple, developed originally for use in the southeastern United States, was modified to provide more reliable assessment of SBFS risk in Iowa. Modeling results based on previous research in Iowa and Wisconsin had suggested replacing leaf wetness duration with cumulative hours of relative humidity (RH) ≥97% as the weather input to the SBFS warning system. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the performance of a RH-based SBFS warning system, and to assess the potential economic benefits for its use in Iowa.

Escherichia coli attachment to model particulates: The effects of bacterial cell characteristics and particulate properties.

E. coli bacteria move in streams freely in a planktonic state or attached to suspended particulates. Attachment is a dynamic process, and the fraction of attached microorganisms is thought to be affected by both bacterial characteristics and particulate properties.

Modeling the dose effects of soybean oil in salad dressing on carotenoid and fat-soluble vitamin bioavailability in salad vegetables.

Previously, we showed that vegetable oil is necessary for carotenoid absorption from salad vegetables. Research is needed to better define the dose effect and its interindividual variation for carotenoids and fat-soluble vitamins. The objective was to model the dose-response relation between the amount of soybean oil in salad dressing and the absorption of ) carotenoids, phylloquinone, and tocopherols in salad vegetables and ) retinyl palmitate formed from the provitamin A carotenoids.

Surface Properties Differ between Stream Water and Sediment Environments.

The importance of as an indicator organism in fresh water has led to numerous studies focusing on cell properties and transport behavior. However, previous studies have been unable to assess if differences in cell surface properties and genomic variation are associated with different environmental habitats. In this study, we investigated the variation in characteristics of obtained from stream water and stream bottom sediments.

Thresholds in marsh resilience to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Ecosystem boundary retreat due to human-induced pressure is a generally observed phenomenon. However, studies that document thresholds beyond which internal resistance mechanisms are overwhelmed are uncommon. Following the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill, field studies from a few sites suggested that oiling of salt marshes could lead to a biogeomorphic feedback where plant death resulted in increased marsh erosion.

Paralog analyses reveal gene duplication events and genes under positive selection in Ixodes scapularis and other ixodid ticks.

Background: Hard ticks (family Ixodidae) are obligatory hematophagous ectoparasites of worldwide medical and veterinary importance. The haploid genomes of multiple species of ixodid ticks exceed 1 Gbp, prompting questions regarding gene, segmental and whole genome duplication in this phyletic group. The availability of the genome assembly for the black legged tick, Ixodes scapularis, and transcriptome datasets for multiple species of ticks offers an opportunity to assess the contribution of gene duplication to the genome.