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Impact is an important aspect of the kicking skill. This study examined foot and ball motion during impact and compared distance and accuracy punt kicks. Two-dimensional high-speed video (4000 Hz) captured data of the shank, foot and ball through impact of 11 elite performers kicking for maximal distance and towards a target 20 m in distance. Four phases were identified during impact, with an overall reduction in foot velocity of 5.0 m · s−1(± 1.1 m · s−1) and increase in ball velocity of 22.7 m · s−1(± 2.3 m · s−1) from the start to end of contact. Higher foot velocity was found in distance compared to accuracy kicks (22.1 ± 1.6 m · s−1vs. 17.7 ± 0.9 m · s−1,P < 0.05), and was considered to produce the significant differences in all impact characteristics excluding foot-to-ball speed ratio. Ankle motion differed between the kicking tasks; distance kicks were characterised by greater rigidity compared to accuracy kicks evident by larger force (834 ± 107 N vs. 588 ± 64 N) and smaller change in ankle angle (2.2 ± 3.3° vs. 7.2 ± 6.4°). Greater rigidity was obtained by altering the position of the ankle at impact start; distance kicks were characterised by greater plantarflexion (130.1 ± 5.8° vs. 123.0 ± 7.9°,P < 0.05), indicating rigidity maybe actively controlled for specific tasks. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Australia and New Zealand agreed to establish a joint system for developing food standards in 1996. The establishment of the joint system provided the opportunity to reform the food regulatory requirements for composition, labelling and contaminants, culminating in the development of the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code. In addition to the development of the joint food standards system, several other regulatory reforms have occurred over the same period. These include the establishment in Australia of a national food safety regulatory system, and in both countries, a shift towards the pre-market safety assessment and approval of certain whole foods, such as genetically modified foods. The impact of the regulatory reforms is subject to an ongoing program of evaluation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Soy is globally recognized as a commonly allergenic food. The VITAL (Voluntary Incidental Trace Allergen Labeling) Scientific Expert Panel (VSEP) of the Allergen Bureau of Australia & New Zealand used data on minimal reactive doses in low-dose clinical challenges of soy-allergic individuals to elaborate and propose the first Reference Dose for soy at 1.0 mg soy protein (based on the lower 95% confidence interval of the ED 05) in 2014 to guide use of precautionary allergen labeling (PAL). These data were taken from clinical challenges with soy flour or soy-based infant formula. More recently, the VSEP has examined additional data including data from challenges conducted with soy milk and used a new statistical model averaging approach to propose a new Reference Dose for soy at 0.5 mg soy protein (based on the ED 01). Questions have arisen about the lowering of the soy Reference Dose and the appropriate use of this new Reference Dose in risk management for soy residues especially relating to the adventitious presence of soy in other grains, legumes and pulses emanating from agricultural comingling. Several factors may have contributed to the lowering of the Reference Dose for soy including the use of the ED 01 vs. the previous use of the 95% lower confidence interval of the ED 05 , the use of model averaging and multiple parametric statistical models, and the incorporation of additional data including the soy milk challenge data. Soy milk may differ from other forms of soy as a challenge material. The background data were examined in greater detail in an attempt to unravel the causative factor(s) behind the lowering of the soy Reference Dose. The use of the new soy Reference Dose for allergen management of the adventitious presence of soy in other agricultural crops was examined in terms of risk to soy-allergic consumers The Reference Dose for soy in VITAL 3.0 decreased to 0.5 mg soy protein primarily because it was based on the ED 01 rather than the 95% lower confidence interval of the ED 05. Clinical data suggest that some soy-allergic individuals may react to soy milk but can tolerate soy flour and other soy-based foods. Perhaps, soy milk may be a more potent form of soy because of its minimal processing. But, with the current data available, there is no evidence to conclude that soy milk responders as a whole group display a relevantly different ED-distribution. The new soy Reference Dose impacts risk assessments for agricultural comingling, a form of cross contact that can be challenging to control on a national or international basis. The potential risks posed by agricultural comingling should be carefully examined in light of the new Reference Dose for soy protein. • The Allergen Bureau of Australia & New Zealand has established new Reference Doses for allergenic food residues to guide precautionary labeling decisions. • The Reference Dose for soy was decreased from 1.0 to 0.5 mg soy protein. • The use of the ED 01 was the major contributing factor to the lowering of the Reference Dose for soy residues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There has been a dramatic proliferation of precautionary labeling by manufacturers to mitigate the perceived risk from low-level contamination from allergens in food. This has resulted in a significant reduction in choice of potentially safe foods for allergic consumers., Objectives: We aimed to establish reference doses for 11 commonly allergenic foods to guide a rational approach by manufacturers based on all publically available valid oral food challenge data., Methods: Reference doses were developed from statistical dose-distribution modeling of individual thresholds of patients in a dataset of more than 55 studies of clinical oral food challenges. Sufficient valid data were available for peanut, milk, egg, and hazelnut to allow assessment of the representativeness of the data used., Results: The data were not significantly affected by the heterogeneity of the study methodology, including little effect of age on results for those foods for which sufficient numbers of adult challenge data were available (peanut and hazelnut). Thus by combining data from all studies, the eliciting dose for an allergic reaction in 1% of the population estimated for the following were 0.2 mg of protein for peanut, 0.1 mg for cow's milk, 0.03 mg for egg, and 0.1 mg for hazelnut., Conclusions: These reference doses will form the basis of the revised Voluntary Incidental Trace Allergen Labeling (VITAL) 2.0 thresholds now recommended in Australia. These new levels will enable manufacturers to apply credible precautionary labeling and provide increased consumer confidence in their validity and reliability, as well as improving consumer safety., (Copyright © 2013 American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: With recent advances in the diagnosis and management of ocular and periocular melanoma, many of which are based on results from randomized control trials, there is an increasing need for an evidence-based review of the literature for the Australasian population. The Australian Cancer Network has recently redeveloped the evidence-based Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Management of Melanoma, including a chapter on ocular melanoma. These are the first evidence-based guidelines on ocular melanoma to be created by the Australian Cancer Network., Methods: The primary research questions were formed and a detailed literature search was undertaken. Each relevant article was assessed and graded I-IV according to the level of evidence. Articles were grouped into bodies of evidence which were then assessed., Results: A total of 107 relevant articles were identified and grouped into 12 bodies of evidence. Guidelines based on this analysis were formulated and graded. These are presented below., Conclusions: The management of ocular melanoma has benefited from recent advances in imaging, molecular biology and cytogenetics, and tumours today are detected earlier and with greater accuracy than 25 years ago. With improved treatment ocular and periocular melanomas can be controlled locally, with good preservation of vision in many patients. However, there remains no cure for metastatic disease.