Flinders University

About: Flinders University is a education organization based out in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Health care. The organization has 12033 authors who have published 32831 publications receiving 973172 citations. The organization is also known as: Flinders University of South Australia.

Bone chemistry and paleodiet

Abstract: Bone chemistry paleodietary studies are emerging as important research areas in archaeology, biological anthropology, and paleontology. With appropriate controls, the inorganic and organic chemical composition of bones and teeth can provide information about past diet and habitat use. Chemical signatures are used to address individual dietary variability in early hominid fossils, paleontological remains, and more recent human and faunal populations.

Omeprazole v ranitidine for prevention of relapse in reflux oesophagitis. A controlled double blind trial of their efficacy and safety.

Abstract: The aim of this study was to compare recurrence rates of reflux oesophagitis (after endoscopic healing with omeprazole) over a 12 month period of randomised, double blind, maintenance treatment with either daily omeprazole (20 mg every morning; n = 53), weekend omeprazole (20 mg on three consecutive days a week, n = 55) or daily ranitidine (150 mg twice daily, n = 51). Patients were assessed for relapse by endoscopy (with gastric biopsy) at six and 12 months, or in the event of symptomatic recurrence, and serum gastrin was monitored. At 12 months, the estimated proportions of patients in remission (actuarial life table method) were 89% when receiving daily omeprazole compared with 32% when receiving weekend omeprazole (difference 57%, p < 0.001, 95% confidence intervals: 42% to 71%) and 25% when receiving daily ranitidine (difference 64%, p < 0.001, 95% confidence intervals: 50% to 78%). Median gastrin concentrations increased slightly during the healing phase, but remained within the normal range and did not change during maintenance treatment. No significant pathological findings were noted, and no adverse events were attributable to the study treatments. In conclusion, for patients who respond favourably to acute treatment with omeprazole 20 mg every morning, the drug is a safe and highly effective maintenance treatment for preventing relapse of reflux oesophagitis and its associated symptoms over 12 months. By contrast, weekend omeprazole and daily ranitidine were ineffective.

Agreement between activPAL and ActiGraph for assessing children's sedentary time

Abstract: Background: Accelerometers have been used to determine the amount of time that children spend sedentary. However, as time spent sitting may be detrimental to health, research is needed to examine whether accelerometer sedentary cut-points reflect the amount of time children spend sitting. The aim of this study was to: a) examine agreement between ActiGraph (AG) cut-points for sedentary time and objectively-assessed periods of free-living sitting and sitting plus standing time using the activPAL (aP); and b) identify cut-points to determine time spent sitting and sitting plus standing. Methods: Forty-eight children (54% boys) aged 8-12 years wore a waist-mounted AG and thigh-mounted aP for two consecutive school days (9-3:30 pm). AG data were analyzed using 17 cut-points between 50-850 counts·min -1 in 50 counts·min -1 increments to determine sedentary time during class-time, break time and school hours. Sitting and sitting plus standing time were obtained from the aP for these periods. Limits of agreement were computed to evaluate bias between AG50 to AG850 sedentary time and sitting and sitting plus standing time. Receiver Operator Characteristic (ROC) analyses identified AG cut-points that maximized sensitivity and specificity for sitting and sitting plus standing time. Results: The smallest mean bias between aP sitting time and AG sedentary time was AG150 for class time (3.8 minutes), AG50 for break time (-0.8 minutes), and AG100 for school hours (-5.2 minutes). For sitting plus standing time, the smallest bias was observed for AG850. ROC analyses revealed an optimal cut-point of 96 counts·min -1 (AUC = 0.75) for sitting time, which had acceptable sensitivity (71.7%) and specificity (67.8%). No optimal cut-point was obtained for sitting plus standing (AUC = 0.51). Conclusions: Estimates of free-living sitting time in children during school hours can be obtained using an AG cut-point of 100 counts·min -1 . Higher sedentary cut-points may capture both sitting and standing time.

Effect of light wavelength on suppression and phase delay of the melatonin rhythm.

Abstract: Different wavelengths of light were compared for melatonin suppression and phase shifting of the salivary melatonin rhythm. The wavelengths compared were 660 nm (red), 595 nm (amber), 525 nm (green...