Relative reliability, standard error of measurement and minimal detected change of transabdominal ultrasound during pelvic floor muscles contraction, Valsalva maneuver, and abdominal curl in healthy women

Introduction: Trans-abdominal ultrasound is a non-invasive and easy method that can assess the function of pelvic floor muscles by observing the movement of the base of the bladder. Although reproducibility studies have examined this method during pelvic floor contraction, there are few findings during the Valsalva maneuver and abdominal curl. The aim of this study was to evaluate the reproducibility, standard error of measurement and the least detectable change in the method of trans-abdominal ultrasound assessment of pelvic floor muscle activity during contraction, Valsalva maneuver and abdominal curl in healthy women.Methods: This methodological study was performed in 1397 in Kashani Hospital of Isfahan on 15 female volunteers aged 20-45 years who had no difficulty in controlling urination. The degree of displacement of the bladder base (as a consequence of pelvic floor muscle activity) in millimeters was assessed by trans-abdominal ultrasonography during pelvic floor contraction, Valsalva maneuver and abdominal curl twice, with an interval of one week. Correlation coefficient and standard error of measurement were used to calculate the reproducibility, standard error of measurement and the least detectable change. P value less than 0.05 was considered significant. Results: The reproducibility of trans-abdominal ultrasonography to assess the displacement of the bladder base during pelvic floor muscle contraction was 0.88, in Valsalva maneuver 0.95 and in abdominal curl 0.83. The lowest detectable change during pelvic floor contraction was 2.27 mm, in the Valsalva maneuver was> 15.7 "< and in the abdominal curl was < 5.65" mm. Conclusion: The repeatability of trans-abdominal ultrasound ultrasound in assessing pelvic floor muscle activity during contraction, valvular maneuvers and abdominal curl is good to excellent. © 2020 Mashhad University of Medical Sciences

Comparison of invertor and evertor muscle strength in patients with chronic functional ankle instability

In this study we tried to measure Invertor and Evertor muscles strength with Isokinetic dynamometer to distinguish, if these muscles activate properly or not. Thirty subjects (15 healthy and 15 patients with chronic functional ankle Instability (CFAI) aged 18-30 years) participated in this study. Maximum eccentric and concentric peak Torque of invertor and evertor muscles measured with Biodex system in 2 different speeds, 60 and 120 degree per second. Statistical analysis showed that maximum eccentric peak torque of invertor muscles in both 60 and 120 degree per second differed statistical significance between two groups, as in the patients group was less than normal subjects (p<0.05). It means that eccentric weakness of invertor muscles will lead to CFAI

Relationship between functional tests and knee muscular isokinetic parameters in patients with patellofemoral pain syndrome

To measure quadriceps and hamstring muscle strength with Isokinetic dynamometer in patients with patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS) and also to examine the relationship between muscle strength and functional test scores and subjective assessment. In this case-control study a total of 30 subjects (15 healthy and 15 patients with diagnosed PFPS) completed Kujala questionnaire concerning subjective functional knee assessment. Then muscle strength was measured with Isokinetic dynamometer in sitting position during 10 to 90 degree of knee flexion in 60 and 120 degree per sec speeds. Finally two kinds of functional tests (step down and semi-squat) were performed by each subject. There was no relationship between functional test scores and Isokinetic strength assessment. There was a poor relationship between functional test scores and Kujala questionnaire score (r = 0.47 for semi squat test and 0.37 for step down test). The overall mean scores of quadriceps Isokinetic parameter in 60 degree per sec speed, functional test scores and KuJala subjective knee assessment scores was less in patients with PFPS. This study showed that both Isokinetic dynamometry and functional tests must be done individually in patients with PFPS

Correlation between gastric volume and organs at risk dose in adjuvant radiotherapy for left breast cancer

BACKGROUND: The role of the gastric volume on the dose-effect relationship for these organs has not been investigated. The aim of the study was to evaluate the correlation between gastric volume and dose-volume histogram (DVH) parameters of the heart, left lung and stomach during left breast cancer radiotherapy (RT). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Ninety-nine left breast cancer patients who got adjuvant radiotherapy were included. Study was classified into two groups based on treatment field arrangements: 1) breast tangential fields only (T) and 2) breast tangential and supraclavicular fields (TS). Organs DVHs were extracted. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, linear regression analyses, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses were performed. RESULTS: There is a direct but not significant correlation between the gastric volume and doses to the stomach and left lung. For a 100-cc increase in the gastric volume, the stomach maximum dose and the V50 increased by 3 Gy and 4%, respectively. For the left lung, V4 and V5 increased by 1% for TS cases. Considering ROC analysis results, one can make a decision for about 74% of patients due to their left lung DVH parameters, using gastric volume as a known input data. The correlation between gastric volume and heart dose was not significant. CONCLUSIONS: The gastric volume of about 170 cc or less can result in lower dose to the stomach and ipsilateral lung during left breast cancer radiotherapy, especially for TS cases. To reach this gastric volume threshold, patients should be fast for 2 hours before the procedure of CT simulation and treatment

A puzzle form of a non-verbal intelligence test gives significantly higher performance measures in children with severe intellectual disability

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Assessment of 'potential intellectual ability' of children with severe intellectual disability (ID) is limited, as current tests designed for normal children do not maintain their interest. Thus a <it>manual puzzle </it>version of the Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices (RCPM) was devised to appeal to the attentional and sensory preferences and language limitations of children with ID. It was hypothesized that performance on the book and manual puzzle forms would not differ for typically developing children but that children with ID would perform better on the puzzle form.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The first study assessed the validity of this puzzle form of the RCPM for 76 typically developing children in a test-retest crossover design, with a 3 week interval between tests. A second study tested performance and completion rate for the puzzle form compared to the book form in a sample of 164 children with ID.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In the first study, no significant difference was found between performance on the puzzle and book forms in typically developing children, irrespective of the order of completion. The second study demonstrated a significantly higher performance and completion rate for the puzzle form compared to the book form in the ID population.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Similar performance on book and puzzle forms of the RCPM by typically developing children suggests that both forms measure the same construct. These findings suggest that the puzzle form does not require greater cognitive ability but demands sensory-motor attention and limits distraction in children with severe ID. Thus, we suggest the puzzle form of the RCPM is a more reliable measure of the non-verbal mentation of children with severe ID than the book form.</p

La conception de l'immortalité entre Attar et André Gide

Dans son œuvre "La porte étroite" André Gide aborde l’immortalité à l’aide des aspects mystiques et spirituels. "Le langage des oiseaux" d’Attar, un des meilleurs exemples du mysticisme oriental, mettant en scène le même sujet, à savoir comment arriver à l’immortalité et à la perfection. Pourtant, il ne faut pas penser que ces deux écrivains, issus des mondes différents et séparés par un grand décalage de temps ont procédé de la même manière. Certes, ils ont choisi, chacun à sa manière une histoire symbolique faisant allusion à l’immortalité, mais l’histoire de chacune de ces œuvres est passée dans un univers littéraire différent

Anxiety as a Common Biomarker for School Children With Additional Health and Developmental Needs Irrespective of Diagnosis.

Currently very little evidence is available regarding the biological characteristics and common comorbid behaviors that are associated with children characterized by learning difficulties who require additional support at school. These children are usually referred to as having Additional Health and Developmental Needs by the Australian Government and the associated public education system more broadly though the problems may arise from academic, social and/or emotional stressors and may or may not include children with clinically diagnosed Neurodevelopmental Disorders. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between anxiety levels (Spence Children's Anxiety Scale- Parent Report), autism traits (Autism Spectrum Quotient - Child Version) and sleep quality (Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children) in children with Additional Health and Developmental Needs without an intellectual disability, but with either a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) (N = 25), Speech and Language Impairment (N = 37) or Other Diagnosis (N = 22). Our results demonstrated that these children with Additional Health and Developmental Needs showed atypically high levels of anxiety and impaired sleep quality, with the ASD group reporting more impairments associated with comorbid anxiety and sleep quality than either of the other clinically diagnosed groups. In fact, greater anxiety level was associated with a greater number of autism traits and poorer sleep quality regardless of diagnostic group suggesting that anxiety is a common experience for children with Additional Health and Developmental Needs. It is suggested that assessment of anxiety, sleep behaviors and autism traits may be useful markers for early identification of children within this population, thus providing scope for early and targeted intervention

Towards developing a more extensive construct of intellectual disability

The aim of this thesis was to re-examine the construct of intellectual disability in terms of not just what children with intellectual disability can and cannot do, but also in regards to their cognitive potential, in order to better aid their education. Children with Autism, idiopathic intellectual disability and Down syndrome were compared to typically developing children on computer based attention tasks. Overall, results showed that problem solving ability in children with intellectual disability of different etiologies is both delayed and deficient and that the Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices is a valid means of matching children with intellectual disability to typically developing children on non-verbal mental age in experimental studies