Balance in Adolescents with and without Visual Impairments

Research has found balance to be significantly delayed in children and adolescents with visual impairments in comparison to their sighted peers, but the relationship between balance self-efficacy and actual balance is unknown. This study examined dynamic and static balance and balance self-efficacy in adolescents who are blind (B) and have low vision (LV); the role of visual experience upon balance; sighted (S) and sighted blindfolded (SB); and experience with vision (SB compared to LV and B); and the relationship between perceived and actual balance. The results revealed that the degree of impairment (Lv compared to B)and experience with vision (SB compared to LV and B)were significant factors in many of the balance assessments, but not the balance self-efficacy ratings. Main effects for self-efficacy ratings and significant correlations for self-efficacy and balance measurements were found for only a few of the more difficult tasks. In conclusion, it is important to examine both motor performance and self-efficacy in adolescents with visual impairments on a variety of familiar tasks and contexts to gain a thorough understanding of the individual\u27s balance. This information is essential when developing appropriate and effective balance interventions for adolescents with visual impairments

Teaching Two Critical Locomotor Skills to Children Who Are Blind or Have Low Vision

Alexandria has retinopathy of prematurity. While attending elementary school, she received the services of a teacher of visually impaired students, an adapted physical education teacher, and an orientation and mobility instructor. Her instructors praised her running and never provided any constructive feedback on the movement patterns of her running, so Alexandria assumed that she was running with proper form. It was not until Alexandria advanced to middle school that a physical educator informed her that she had a shuffling gait and needed to swing her arms while running. Through tactile modeling and physical guidance, Alexandria’s gait improved dramatically; however, she was embarrassed that her form was not corrected at a younger age

Educazione Fisica per Bambini con Sindrome di Charge: Ricerca per la Pratica

I bambini affetti da sindrome di Charge mostrano spesso un significativo ritardo nell o sviluppo motorio, che influisce sull a loro performance in diverse abilità motorie e attività fisiche. Lo scopo di questo studio era determinare lo stato dell ’educazione fisica offerta ai bambini affetti da questa sindrome. Le principali aree di interesse erano: (1) setting dell ’educazione fisica; (2) modalità di comunicazione; (3) modifiche; (4) lezioni di successo; (5) lezioni di educazione fisica problematiche. Ventisei genitori di bambini con sindrome di Charge, di età compresa tra 6 e 19 anni, hanno compilato un questionario durante una conferenza internazionale rivolta all e famiglie di soggetti affetti da questa sindrome, che è stato utilizzato come principale fonte di raccolta dati, per comprendere meglio la prospettiva dei genitori sull e esperienze di educazione fisica dei loro bambini con sindrome di Charge. I dati contenuti nell e risposte dei genitori al questionario sono stati usati per fornire indicazioni pratiche per la programmazione di attività di educazione fisica. I risultati hanno rivelato che il tipo di inserimento nell ’educazione fisica influisce sul successo dei bambini e sull a soddisfazione dei genitori rispetto al programma di educazione fisica. Inoltre, i bambini che avevano la possibilità di usufruire di personale di sostegno, come un assistente dell ’insegnante, un educatore o un coadiutore durante l’educazione fisica, avevano maggiore successo. Sono state utilizzate svariate modalità di comunicazione con i bambini con sindrome di Charge. Le lezioni di educazione fisica di successo, secondo quanto riportato dai genitori, erano nuoto, monopattino, bowling, scherma, T-ball , danza, roccia, hockey su pista, hockey su prato e ginnastica artistica. Le lezioni in cui i bambini facevano più fatica erano quell e relative ad abilità motorie fondamentali, come saltare la corda, correre, saltell are, e tutte le lezioni di sport che implicavano l’uso di una pall a che si muoveva velocemente. In conclusione, le modalità di inserimento in educazione fisica, la comunicazione e le modifiche devono essere definitive in modo individualizzato, tenendo conto dell e caratteristiche di ogni singolo bambino con sindrome di Charge. Inoltre, il personale di supporto deve essere appositamente formato sull e esigenze speciali di ogni bambino e sull e aree base di insegnamento del programma di educazione fisica. Vengono infine inclusi nell ’articolo alcuni suggerimenti per migliorare i programmi di educazione fisica, in modo da favorire il coinvolgimento del bambino con la classe e aumentare il successo nell e singole lezioni svolte

Physical activity counseling in overweight and obese primary care patients: Outcomes of the VA-STRIDE randomized controlled trial.

The purpose of this 2-arm randomized clinical trial was to evaluate the effectiveness of a 12-month, expert system-based, print-delivered physical activity intervention in a primary care Veteran population in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Participants were not excluded for many health conditions that typically are exclusionary criteria in physical activity trials. The primary outcome measures were physical activity reported using the Community Healthy Activities Model Program for Seniors (CHAMPS) questionnaire and an accelerometer-based activity assessment at baseline, 6, and 12 months. Of the 232 Veterans enrolled in the study, 208 (89.7%) were retained at the 6-month follow-up and 203 (87.5%) were retained at 12 months. Compared to the attention control, intervention participants had significantly increased odds of meeting the U.S. recommended guideline of ≥ 150 min/week of at least moderate-intensity physical activity at 12 months for the modified CHAMPS (odds ratio [OR] = 2.86; 95% CI: 1.03-7.96; p = 0.04) but not at 6 months (OR = 1.54; 95% CI: 0.56-4.23; p = 0.40). Based on accelerometer data, intervention participants had significantly increased odds of meeting ≥ 150 min/week of moderate-equivalent physical activity at 6 months (OR = 6.26; 95% CI: 1.26-31.22; p = 0.03) and borderline significantly increased odds at 12 months (OR = 4.73; 95% CI: 0.98-22.76; p = 0.053). An expert system physical activity counseling intervention can increase or sustain the proportion of Veterans in primary care meeting current recommendations for moderate-intensity physical activity. Trial Registration Clinical trials.gov identifier: NCT00731094 URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00731094

Hodgkin's lymphoma in remission after first-line therapy: which patients need FDG-PET/CT for follow-up?

Background: The purpose of the study was to evaluate the impact of 2-[fluorine-18]fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose-positron emission tomography (FDG-PET)/computed tomography (CT) during follow-up of patients with Hodgkin's lymphoma. Patients and methods: Patients in complete remission or an unconfirmed complete remission after first-line therapy who received FDG-PET/CT during their follow-up were analyzed retrospectively. Confirmatory biopsy was mandatory in case of recurrence. Results: Overall, 134 patients were analyzed. Forty-two (31.3%) patients had a recurrence. The positive predictive value of FDG-PET/CT was 0.98. Single-factor analysis identified morphological residual mass [P = 0.0005, hazard ratio (HR) 3.4, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.7-6.6] and symptoms (P 24 months). Conclusions: Asymptomatic patients without morphological residues and an early stage of disease do not need a routine FDG-PET/CT for follow-up. Asymptomatic patients with morphological residues should receive routine follow-up FDG-PET/CT for the first 24 months. Only patients with advanced initial stage do need a routine follow-up FDG-PET/CT beyond 24 month

Investigating in-service failures of water pipes from a multiaxial notch fatigue point of view: A conceptual study

Many mechanisms and processes can cause deterioration and ultimately failure of water distribution pipes during in-service operation, amongst these is damage caused by metal fatigue. This paper summarises an attempt at formalising a novel methodology suitable for estimating the number of years taken for a through thickness fatigue crack to form in this complex scenario. The devised method is based on the so-called modified Wo¨hler curve method and can be applied to estimate fatigue damage of water pipes independently from the degree of multiaxiality and non-proportionality of the load history. The computational approach of the proposed fatigue life estimation technique makes full use of an incremental procedure: fatigue damage is evaluated year by year by assuming that all variable involved in the process can change over time. The detrimental effect of corrosion pits is directly accounted for by treating them as conventional notches whose size increases with time. Finally, by taking as reference information the number of years for a blowout hole to form, the proposed approach is used to show how the lifetime of grey cast iron pipes can be remarkably shortened by fatigue

Risk-adapted FDG-PET/CT-based follow-up in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma after first-line therapy

Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of 2-[fluorine-18]fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose-positron emission tomography/computed tomography (FDG-PET/CT) during follow-up of patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) being in complete remission or unconfirmed complete remission after first-line therapy. Patients and methods: DLBCL patients receiving FDG-PET/CT during follow-up were analyzed retrospectively. Confirmatory biopsy was mandatory in cases of suspected disease recurrence. Results: Seventy-five patients were analyzed and 23 (30%) had disease recurrence. The positive predictive value (PPV) of FDG-PET/CT was 0.85. Patients >60 years [P = 0.036, hazard ratio (HR) = 3.82, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.02-7.77] and patients with symptoms indicative of a relapse (P = 0.015; HR = 4.1; 95% CI 1.20-14.03) had a significantly higher risk for relapse. A risk score on the basis of signs of relapse, age >60 years, or a combination of these factors identified patients at high risk for recurrence (P = 0.041). Conclusions: FDG-PET/CT detects recurrent DLBCL after first-line therapy with high PPV. However, it should not be used routinely and if only in selected high-risk patients to reduce radiation burden and costs. On the basis of our retrospective data, FDG-PET/CT during follow-up is indicated for patients 60 years with and without clinical signs of relaps

Sodium Hydroxide Catalyzed Dehydrocoupling of Alcohols with Hydrosilanes

An O–Si bond construction protocol employing abundantly available and inexpensive NaOH as the catalyst is described. The method enables the cross-dehydrogenative coupling of an alcohol and hydrosilane to directly generate the corresponding silyl ether under mild conditions and without the production of stoichiometric salt byproducts. The scope of both coupling partners is excellent, positioning the method for use in complex molecule and materials science applications. A novel Si-based cross-coupling reagent is also reported

The role of PET/CT in detection of gastric cancer recurrence

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In the course of surveillance of gastric cancer recurrence after curative resection, contrast CT scan is used in general. However, new findings from CT scan are not always confirmatory for the recurrence. In this case, we usually use short-term follow up strategy or therapeutic intervention with clinical decision. Recently, the use of fusion Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography (PET/CT) is increasing. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and usefulness of PET/CT for detecting recurrence of gastric cancer after curative resection.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Fifty two patients who received curative resection of gastric cancer and had undergone PET/CT and contrast CT for surveillance of recurrence until Dec 2006 in Seoul National University Hospital were analyzed retrospectively. Recurrence of gastric cancer was validated by histologic confirmation (n = 17) or serial contrast CT follow up with at least 5 month interval (n = 35). McNemar's test and Fisher's exact test were used to evaluate sensitivity and specificity of PET/CT and contrast CT.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of 52 patients, 38 patients were confirmed as recurrence. The sensitivity was 68.4% (26/38) for PET/CT and 89.4% (34/38) for contrast CT (p = 0.057). The specificity was 71.4% (10/14) and 64.2% (9/14), respectively (p = 1.0). In terms of the recurred sites, the sensitivity and specificity of PET/CT were similar to those of contrast CT in all sites except peritoneum. Contrast CT was more sensitive than PET/CT (p = 0.039) for detecting peritoneal seeding. Additional PET/CT on contrast CT showed no further increase of positive predictive value regardless of sites. Among 13 patients whose image findings between two methods were discordant and tissue confirmation was difficult, the treatment decision was made in 7 patients based on PET/CT, showing the final diagnostic accuracy of 42.8% (3/7).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>PET/CT was as sensitive and specific as contrast CT in detection of recurred gastric cancer except peritoneal seeding. However, additional PET/CT on contrast CT did not increase diagnostic accuracy in detection of recurred gastric cancer. Further studies are warranted to validate the role of PET/CT in detection of gastric cancer recurrence.</p