Sagittal Subtalar and Talocrural Joint Assessment With Weight-Bearing Fluoroscopy During Barefoot Ambulation

Background: Identifying talar position during ambulation has proved difficult as the talus lacks palpable landmarks for skin marker placement and more invasive methodologies such as bone pins are not practical for most clinical subjects. A fluoroscopic motion system was used to track the talus and calcaneus, allowing kinematic analysis of the talocrural and subtalar joints. Methods: Thirteen male subjects (mean age 22.9 ± 3.0 years) previously screened for normal gait were tested. A fluoroscopy unit was used to collect images at 120 fps during stance. Sagittal motion of the talocrural and subtalar joints were analyzed. Results: The intersubject mean and standard deviation values for all 58 trials of 13 subjects are reported. Maximum talocrural joint plantarflexion of 11.2 degrees (4.3 degrees of standard deviation) occurred at 11% stance and maximum dorsiflexion of −6.9 degrees (5.6 degrees of standard deviation) occurred at 85%. Maximum subtalar joint plantarflexion of 4.8 degrees (1.0 degrees of standard deviation) occurred at 96% stance and maximum dorsiflexion of −3.6 degrees (2.3 degrees of standard deviation) occurred at 30%. Talocrural and subtalar range of motion values during stance were 18.1 and 8.4 degrees, respectively. Conclusion: Existing fluoroscopic technology was capable of defining sagittal plane talocrural and subtalar motion during gait. These kinematic results compare favorably with more invasive techniques. This type of assessment could support more routine analysis of in vivo bony motion during gait. Clinical Relevance: Fluoroscopic technology offers improved sagittal plane motion evaluation during weight-bearing with potential application in patients with end-stage ankle arthritis, postoperative ankle replacements and fusions, and orthotics and braces

Teaching Money Literacy in a Positive Youth Development Program: The Project P.A.T.H.S. in Hong Kong

In view of the high impact of materialistic orientation among children and adolescents, financial educational programs are provided as preventive measures. Without a clear framework, it is impossible to evaluate these programs. The goals of this paper are threefold. Firstly, the phenomena related to adolescent materialistic orientation and its associated problems in Hong Kong are examined. Secondly, the concept of financial education as a preventive measure is reviewed. Both board and narrow definitions of money literacy are examined. A framework on money literacy for children and adolescents as a founding stone for financial education is proposed. The framework finds its support from a typology proposed by the authors and results from an integration of research findings on dimensions of the concepts of money and success. Finally, curriculum units for Grades 7 to 9 students in a positive youth development program (the Project P.A.T.H.S.) are developed using the framework

Sagittal Subtalar and Talocrural Joint Assessment During Ambulation With Controlled Ankle Movement (CAM) Boots

Background: The purpose of the current study was to determine sagittal plane talocrural and subtalar kinematic differences between barefoot and controlled ankle movement (CAM) boot walking. This study used fluoroscopic images to determine talar motion relative to tibia and calcaneal motion relative to talus. Methods: Fourteen male subjects (mean age 24.1 ± 3.5 years) screened for normal gait were tested. A fluoroscopy unit was used to collect images at 200 Hz during stance. Sagittal motion of the talocrural and subtalar joints were analyzed barefoot and within short and tall CAM boots. Results: Barefoot talocrural mean maximum plantar and dorsiflexion were 9.2 ± 5.4 degrees and −7.5 ± 7.4 degrees, respectively; short CAM boot mean maximum plantar and dorsiflexion were 3.2 ± 4.0 degrees and −4.8 ± 10.2 degrees, respectively; and tall CAM boot mean maximum plantar and dorsiflexion were −0.2 ± 3.5 degrees and −2.4 ± 5.1 degrees, respectively. Talocrural mean range of motion (ROM) decreased from barefoot (16.7 ± 5.1 degrees) to short CAM boot (8.0 ± 4.9 degrees) to tall CAM boot (2.2 ± 2.5 degrees). Subtalar mean maximum plantarflexion angles were 5.3 ± 5.6 degrees for barefoot walking, 4.1 ± 5.9 degrees for short CAM boot walking, and 3.0 ± 4.7 degrees for tall CAM boot walking. Mean minimum subtalar plantarflexion angles were 0.7 ± 3.2 degrees for barefoot walking, 0.7 ± 2.9 degrees for short CAM boot walking, and 0.1 ± 4.8 degrees for tall CAM boot walking. Subtalar mean ROM decreased from barefoot (4.6 ± 3.9 degrees) to short CAM boot (3.4 ± 3.8 degrees) to tall CAM boot (2.9 ± 2.6 degrees). Conclusion: Tall and short CAM boot intervention was shown to limit both talocrural and subtalar motion in the sagittal plane during ambulation. The greatest reductions were seen with the tall CAM boot, which limited talocrural motion by 86.8% and subtalar motion by 37.0% compared to barefoot. Short CAM boot intervention reduced talocrural motion by 52.1% and subtalar motion by 26.1% compared to barefoot. Clinical Relevance: Both short and tall CAM boots reduced talocrural and subtalar motion during gait. The short CAM boot was more convenient to use, whereas the tall CAM boot more effectively reduced motion. In treatments requiring greater immobilization of the talocrural and subtalar joints, the tall CAM boot should be considered

Process Evaluation of a Positive Youth Development Program in Hong Kong Based on Different Cohorts

There are only a few process evaluation studies on positive youth development programs, particularly in the Chinese context. This study aims to examine the quality of implementation of a positive youth development program (the Project P.A.T.H.S.: Positive Adolescent Training through Holistic Social Programmes) and investigate the relationships among program adherence, process factors, implementation quality, and perceived program success. Process evaluation of 97 classroom-based teaching units was conducted in 62 schools from 2005 to 2009. Findings based on different cohorts generally showed that there were high overall program adherence and implementation quality. Program adherence and implementation process were highly correlated with quality and success of the program. Multiple regression analyses further showed that both implementation process and program adherence are significant predictors of program quality and success. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed

Emotion dysregulation and acquired capability for suicide: A correlational analysis

This study examines the relationship between emotion dysregulation and acquired capability for suicide using self-report, behavioral, and physiological measures. Participants (N = 47) completed the Difficulties with Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS; Gratz & Roemer, 2004) and the Cold Pressor Task (CPT). Bivariate correlational analyses were conducted to examine the strength and direction of associations between several variables including participants’ age and gender, baseline emotion dysregulation (i.e., DERS scores), baseline respiratory sinus arrythmia (RSA) and withdrawal RSA, and pain tolerance, persistence, and threshold values. Results suggest that an individual’s ability to self-regulate at rest is associated with greater persistence through pain

Prosocial Norms as a Positive Youth Development Construct: A Conceptual Review

Prosocial norms like reciprocity, social responsibility, altruism, and volunteerism are ethical standards and beliefs that youth development programs often want to promote. This paper reviews evolutionary, social-cognitive, and developmental theories of prosocial development and analyzes how young people learn and adopt prosocial norms. The paper showed that very few current theories explicitly address the issue of how prosocial norms, in form of feelings of moral obligations, may be challenged by a norm of self-interest and social circumstances when prosocial acts are needed. It is necessary to develop theories which put prosocial norms as a central construct, and a new social cognitive theory of norm activation has the potential to help us understand how prosocial norms may be applied. This paper also highlights how little we know about young people perceiving and receiving prosocial norms and how influential of school policies and peer influence on the prosocial development. Lastly, while training of interpersonal competence (e.g., empathy, moral reasoning, etc.) was commonly used in the youth development, their effectiveness was not systematically evaluated. It will also be interesting to examine how computer and information technology or video games may be used in e-learning of prosocial norms