Comparison of Self-Reported and Device-Based Measured Physical Activity Using Measures of Stability, Reliability, and Validity in Adults and Children

Quantification of physical activity (PA) depends on the type of measurement and analysis method making it difficult to compare adherence to PA guidelines. Therefore, test-retest reliability, validity, and stability for self-reported (i.e., questionnaire and diary) and device-based measured (i.e., accelerometry with 10/60 s epochs) PA was compared in 32 adults and 32 children from the SMARTFAMILY study to examine if differences in these measurement tools are systematic. PA was collected during two separate measurement weeks and the relationship for each quality criteria was analyzed using Spearman correlation. Results showed the highest PA values for questionnaires followed by 10-s and 60-s epochs measured by accelerometers. Levels of PA were lowest when measured by diary. Only accelerometry demonstrated reliable, valid, and stable results for the two measurement weeks, the questionnaire yielded mixed results and the diary showed only a few significant correlations. Overall, higher correlations for the quality criteria were found for moderate than for vigorous PA and the results differed between children and adults. Since the differences were not found to be systematic, the choice of measurement tools should be carefully considered by anyone working with PA outcomes, especially if vigorous PA is the parameter of interest.

Comparison of Self-Reported and Device-Based Measured Physical Activity Using Measures of Stability, Reliability, and Validity in Adults and Children

Quantification of physical activity (PA) depends on the type of measurement and analysis method making it difficult to compare adherence to PA guidelines. Therefore, test-retest reliability, criterion validity, and stability for self-reported (i.e. questionnaire and diary) and device-based measured (i.e. accelerometry with 10/60 second epochs) PA was compared in 32 adults and 32 children from the SMARTFAMILY study to examine if differences in these measurement tools are systematic. PA was collected during two separate measurement weeks and the relationship for each quality criteria was analyzed using Spearman correlation. Results showed the highest PA values for questionnaires followed by 10-second and 60-second epochs measured by accelerometers. Levels of PA were lowest when measured by diary. Only accelerometry demonstrated reliable, valid, and stable results for the two measurement weeks, the questionnaire yielded mixed results and the diary showed only few significant correlations. Overall, higher correlations for the quality criteria were found for moderate than for vigorous PA and the results differed between children and adults. Since the differences were not found to be systematic, the choice of measurement tools should be carefully considered by anyone working with PA outcomes, especially if vigorous PA is the parameter of interest.

Measurement of Available Carbohydrates in Cereal and Cereal Products, Dairy Products, Vegetables, Fruit and Related Food Products and Animal Feeds: First Action 2020.07

Background The level of available carbohydrates in our diet is directly linked to two major diseases; obesity and Type II diabetes. Despite this, to date there is no method available to allow direct and accurate measurement of available carbohydrates in human and animal foods. Objective The aim of this research was to develop a method that would allow simple and accurate measurement of available carbohydrates, defined as non-resistant starch, maltodextrins, maltose, isomaltose, sucrose, lactose, glucose, fructose and galactose. Method Non-resistant (digestible) starch is hydrolysed to glucose and maltose by pancreatic α-amylase and amyloglucosidase at pH 6.0 with shaking or stirring at 37 °C for 4 h. Sucrose, lactose, maltose and isomaltose are completely hydrolyzed by specific enzymes to their constituent monosaccharides, which are then measured using pure enzymes in a single reaction cuvette. Results A method has been developed that allows the accurate measurement of available carbohydrates in all cereal, vegetable, fruit, food, and feed products, including dairy products. Conclusions A single-laboratory validation was performed on a wide range of food and feed products. The inter-day repeatability (%RSDr) was <3.58% (w/w) across a range of samples containing 44.1 to 88.9% available carbohydrates. The LOD and LOQ obtained were 0.054% (w/w) and 0.179% (w/w), respectively. The method is all inclusive, specific, robust and simple to use. Highlights A unique method has been developed for the direct measurement of available carbohydrates, entailing separate measurement of glucose, fructose and galactose; information of value in determining the glycemic index of foods.

Rogowsky coil applications for power measurement under non-sinusoidal field conditions

Electric energy measurement errors depend on the design and algorithms used in electricity meters, as well as on the auxiliary and embedded sensors’ accuracy and bandwidth (or more precisely, maximum measurable frequency). Poor power quality may affect the electric energy meters accuracy, which will lead to the improper power accounting. In this article the applications of the Rogowsky coil sensors for electric energy measurement are studied. The advantages and the challenges of this sensor type implementation are discussed, and the operation scheme of the power meter for the separate measurement of the fundamental harmonic’s electric energy and the higher harmonics electric energy is proposed. The possibility of implementation of responsibility determining methods for power quality distortion is highlighted.

Young people’s identity capital and social participation in the life of the local community

The article contains a report from a study involving young people living in the Polish southern borderland. The research was designed as a comparative, longitu­dinal cohort study. Measurements of a given variable (declared identity behaviours) were carried out with the use of the same instrument, in a reproducible manner, at different times (in the school years 2003/2004 and 2016/2017) and on the same cohort. The results of these measurements, obtained in two separate measurement periods, indicate a similar value of youths’ identity capital and an increase of social participation in the life of the local community. The diagnosis is a prelude to the determination of compensating educational activities and identification of existing social instruments as regards their model and pattern.