Aim To examine whether the nutritional quality of children's packaged food products available in Australian supermarkets improved between 2013 and 2016, and whether any change could be detected in product reformulation since the introduction of the Health Star Rating (HSR) labelling scheme. Methods Packaged food products marketed towards children were purchased from three Australian supermarkets in July 2013 (for a previous study) and July 2016. Nutritional quality was assessed using the Food Standards Australian New Zealand Nutrient Profiling Scoring Criterion. Comparisons were made between the nutrient composition and formulation of products (a) available in 2013 and 2016; and (b) with and without HSR graphics. Results Of the 252 children's packaged products analysed, 53.6% were classified as ‘less healthy’. HSR‐labelled products had a significantly higher proportion classified as ‘healthy’ than those without the HSR (χ2 = 26.5; P < 0.0001; 73.8% and 59.0%, respectively). Overall, 28.5% displayed the HSR; the majority (81.5%) having a rating of ≥3.0 stars. Cereal‐based products had the greatest uptake of the scheme, with HSR‐labelled products having significantly lower mean energy and saturated fat content (P < 0.01) and higher mean protein and fibre content (P < 0.001) than non‐HSR products. Reformulation of products that were available in 2013 had occurred in 100% of HSR‐labelled products in comparison to 61.3% of non‐HSR labelled products. Conclusions Despite the introduction of the HSR, more than half of children's packaged foods sampled are ‘less healthy’. However, early indications suggest that the HSR may stimulate healthier product reformulation.

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A human factors experiment was conducted to assess the intelligibility of synthesized speech under a variety of noise conditions for both hearing-impaired and normal-hearing subjects. Modified Rhyme Test stimuli were used to determine intelligibility in four speech-to-noise ( S / N ) ratios (0,5,10, and 15 dB), and three noise types, consisting of flat-by-octaves (pink) noise, interior noise of a currently produced heavy truck, and truck cab noise with added background speech. A quiet condition was also investigated. During recording of the truck noise for the experiment, in-cab noise measurements were obtained. According to OSHA standards, these data indicated that drivers of the sampled trucks have a minimal risk for noiseinduced hearing loss due to in-cab noise exposure when driving at freeway speeds because noise levels were below 80 dBA. In the intelligibility experiment, subjects with hearing loss had significantly lower intelligibility than normal-hearing subjects, both in quiet and in noise, but no interaction with noise type or S / N ratio was found. Intelligibility was significantly lower for the noise with background speech than the other noises, but the truck noise produced intelligibility equal to the pink noise. An analytical prediction of intelligibility using Articulation Index calculations exhibited a high positive correlation with the empirically obtained intelligibility data for both groups of subjects. Evaluation and reduction of heavy-duty truck noise

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