Exploring opportunities available and perceived barriers to physical activity engagement in children and young people with Down syndrome

Primary objective: The aim of this study was to explore physical activity (PA) amongst children and young people with Down syndrome (DS). Method and procedures: The youth physical activity promotion model (YPAP) was used to inform semi-structured interviews to explore PA of children and young people with DS. Participants were three males and five females, aged between 6 and 21 years (16.38 + 5.04 years (mean + SD)) who had been diagnosed with the condition DS. Dyadic interviews were conducted with the participant and their parent(s). The interviews were recorded and transcribed, and inductive and deductive analyses of the data were completed. Main outcomes and results: The results were structured around the YPAP Model’s key themes included: enabling factors (seasonal variation, transport, type of activity and independence); predisposing factors (enjoyment, social interaction, dislikes of PA, following instructions, and understanding of PA); reinforcing factors (support and opportunities, parents, and care providers); and barriers to PA engagement (ear problems). Conclusion: The children and young people with DS in the study typically only engaged in fun, unstructured activities. Key facilitators for PA participation were social interactions and parental support. Increasing the level of independence for people with DS within adolescence may have beneficial effects for PA participation in later life

Extracting Br(omega->pi^+ pi^-) from the Time-like Pion Form-factor

We extract the G-parity-violating branching ratio Br(omega->pi^+ pi^-) from the effective rho-omega mixing matrix element Pi_{rho omega}(s), determined from e^+e^- -> pi^+ pi^- data. The omega->pi^+ pi^- partial width can be determined either from the time-like pion form factor or through the constraint that the mixed physical propagator D_{rho omega}^{mu nu}(s) possesses no poles. The two procedures are inequivalent in practice, and we show why the first is preferred, to find finally Br(omega->pi^+ pi^-) = 1.9 +/- 0.3%.Comment: 12 pages (published version

Solar Wakes of Dark Matter Flows

We analyze the effect of the Sun's gravitational field on a flow of cold dark matter (CDM) through the solar system in the limit where the velocity dispersion of the flow vanishes. The exact density and velocity distributions are derived in the case where the Sun is a point mass. The results are extended to the more realistic case where the Sun has a finite size spherically symmetric mass distribution. We find that regions of infinite density, called caustics, appear. One such region is a line caustic on the axis of symmetry, downstream from the Sun, where the flow trajectories cross. Another is a cone-shaped caustic surface near the trajectories of maximum scattering angle. The trajectories forming the conical caustic pass through the Sun's interior and probe the solar mass distribution, raising the possibility that the solar mass distribution may some day be measured by a dark matter detector on Earth. We generalize our results to the case of flows with continuous velocity distributions, such as that predicted by the isothermal model of the Milky Way halo.Comment: 30 pages, 8 figure

Measurements of the Q2Q^2-Dependence of the Proton and Neutron Spin Structure Functions g1p and g1n

The structure functions g1p and g1n have been measured over the range 0.014 < x < 0.9 and 1 < Q2 < 40 GeV2 using deep-inelastic scattering of 48 GeV longitudinally polarized electrons from polarized protons and deuterons. We find that the Q2 dependence of g1p (g1n) at fixed x is very similar to that of the spin-averaged structure function F1p (F1n). From a NLO QCD fit to all available data we find $\Gamma_1^p - \Gamma_1^n =0.176 \pm 0.003 \pm 0.007$ at Q2=5 GeV2, in agreement with the Bjorken sum rule prediction of 0.182 \pm 0.005.Comment: 17 pages, 3 figures. Submitted to Physics Letters

Measurement of the Proton and Deuteron Spin Structure Functions g2 and Asymmetry A2

We have measured the spin structure functions g2p and g2d and the virtual photon asymmetries A2p and A2d over the kinematic range 0.02 < x < 0.8 and 1.0 < Q^2 < 30(GeV/c)^2 by scattering 38.8 GeV longitudinally polarized electrons from transversely polarized NH3 and 6LiD targets.The absolute value of A2 is significantly smaller than the sqrt{R} positivity limit over the measured range, while g2 is consistent with the twist-2 Wandzura-Wilczek calculation. We obtain results for the twist-3 reduced matrix elements d2p, d2d and d2n. The Burkhardt-Cottingham sum rule integral - int(g2(x)dx) is reported for the range 0.02 < x < 0.8.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures, 1 tabl

Weight status associations with physical activity intensity and physical self-perceptions in 10-11 year old children

The study examined associations between children’s weight status, physical activity intensity, and physical self-perceptions. Data were obtained from 409 children (224 girls) aged 10-11 years categorized as normal-weight or overweight/obese. Physical activity was assessed using accelerometry, and children completed the Physical Self-Perception Profile. After controlling for the effects of age, maturation, and socio-economic status vigorous physical activity was significantly associated with normal-weight status among boys (OR = 1.13, p = 0.01) and girls (OR = 1.13, p = 0.03). Normal-weight status was significantly associated with perceived Physical Condition (Boys: OR = 5.05, p = .008; Girls: OR = 2.50, p = 0.08), and Body Attractiveness (Boys: OR = 4.44, p = 0.007; Girls: OR = 2.56, p = 0.02). Weight status of 10-11 year old children was significantly associated with time spent in vigorous physical activity and self-perceptions of Body Attractiveness and Physical Condition

The influence of relative age effects on the cardiorespiratory fitness levels of children age 9 to 10 and 11 to 12 years of age

The aims of this study were firstly to examine whether there was an observed relative age effect in the cardiorespiratory fitness scores of 9-10 and 11-12 year old children, and secondly whether any observed effect was maintained after controlling for somatic maturity. Cardiorespiratory fitness data from 11,404 children aged 9-10 years and 3,911 children aged 11-12 years were obtained from a large cross-sectional field-based fitness testing program. A one-way ANOVA revealed a statistically significant relative age effect (p &lt; .01) existed in the 20mSRT scores across all the age groups. Furthermore, ANCOVA analyses identified a statistically significant relative age effect was maintained after controlling for somatic maturation (p &lt; .05). From a public health perspective these results confirm the existence of relative age effects for the first time and consequently may hold implications for relatively younger children in the accurate assessment of their cardiorespiratory fitness scores.</jats:p