Strategies in conveying information about unshared events using aided communication

Describing events may be challenging for any child, but children who use communication aids may face unique linguistic, pragmatic, and strategic challenges in conveying information with the communication means they have available. This study explores strategies used by young, aided communicators when describing the content of a video unknown to their communication partners. The participants of the study were 48 aided communicators (aged 5;3-15;2) from nine countries and seven language groups and their communication partners (parents, professionals, and peers) who used natural speech. Descriptive and statistical analyses were utilized to investigate the relationships between individual characteristics, linguistic and non-linguistic factors, linguistic strategies, and performance in conveying the content of the video event. Analyses of the 48 videotaped interactions revealed the use of a variety of linguistic elements and multimodal strategies, demonstrating both creativity and challenges. Success in relaying messages was significantly related to age, mode of communication, and individual profiles, such as everyday communication functioning and comprehension of grammar. Measures of receptive vocabulary and non-verbal reasoning were not significantly related to communicative success. The use of shared context and negotiation of meaning of potentially ambiguous utterances demonstrate the shared responsibility of disambiguation and meaning construction in interactions involving aided and naturally speaking communicators.Peer reviewe

Korkeakouluopiskelijoiden mentaaliharjoittelun strategiat pianon- ja kitaransoitossa

Tiivistelmä. Mentaaliharjoittelua käytetään musiikin opetuksessa vain vähän, vaikka esimerkiksi urheilun valmennuksessa mentaaliharjoittelua on hyödynnetty jo pitkään. Kokemuksemme mukaan mentaaliharjoittelulla on merkittävät mahdollisuudet musiikin harjoittelun tukena. Musiikin opetuksessa mentaaliharjoittelu ei ole tullut juurikaan vastaan, vaikka monesti paljon matkustavan muusikon työnkuvaan se sopisi erinomaisesti. Mentaaliharjoittelu mahdollistaisi musiikillisten taitojen opettelun myös kotona, vaikka instrumentteja ei olisikaan käytettävissä. Tutkimuksessamme tarkastelimme mentaaliharjoittelua ja siinä käytettyjä strategioita. Käytimme työssämme eksploratiivista menetelmää ja avointa haastattelua aineistonkeruussa. Tutkittavat soittivat neljä eri kappaletta: kaksi pianolla ja kaksi kitaralla. Molemmilla soittimilla soitettiin kappale harjoitellen perinteisellä tavalla (soittimen kanssa) sekä kappale harjoitellen mentaalisesti (ilman soitinta). Soittotilanteet videoitiin, jonka jälkeen tutkittavat haastateltiin stimulated recall -tyylisesti. Kappaleet sävellettiin tutkimusta varten, jotta ne olisivat tutkittaville entuudestaan tuntemattomia. Aineistomme koostuu soittosuoritusten videomateriaalista sekä avoimen haastattelun litteroidusta tekstistä, joka on analysoitu sisällönanalyysin avulla. Tutkittavat käyttivät mentaaliharjoittelun strategioina musiikillisten taitojen hyödyntämistä sekä yleisten kognitiivisten taitojen hyödyntämistä. Esiin nousseita musiikillisia strategioita olivat esimerkiksi auditiivisuus, kinesteettisyys sekä visualisuus. Yleisiä kognitiivisia taitoja tässä tutkimuksessa ovat esimerkiksi mieleen painaminen ilman musiikillista kontekstia sekä ulkoa opettelu. Harjoittelustrategiat eivät juuri eronneet kitaran ja pianon välillä — tosin pääinstrumenteillaan soittaessaan tutkittavat suoriutuivat tehtävistä paremmin. Verrattaessa mentaaliharjoittelua perinteiseen soittoharjoitteluun harjoittelustrategiat olivat hyvin samankaltaisia, mutta käytetyt musiikilliset strategiat erosivat hieman toisistaan. Tutkimus osoitti, että tutkittavista parhaisiin mentaaliharjoittelun tuloksiin pääsivät he, jotka pystyivät käyttämään harjoittelun strategioina musiikillisia strategioita. Myös he, jotka pystyivät ”niputtamaan” työmuistinsa rajallista kapasiteettia musiikin kokonaisvaltaisen ymmärtämisen avulla, suoriutuivat vahvasti mentaaliharjoittelusta. Heikommin tehtävistä suoriutui, mikäli harjoittelu jäi yleisten kognitiivisten taitojen varaan. Tällöin ajattelua ei liitetty ollenkaan musiikkiin, vaan kappaleet opeteltiin enemmänkin lyhytkestoisen ja pienikapasiteettisen työmuistin rajoissa.Strategies for university students’ mental training in playing the piano and the guitar. Abstract. Mental training is seldom used in teaching music, although it has long been used for instance in sports coaching. Our experience shows that mental training has a significant potential to support music training. In music teaching, mental training has hardly been encountered, even though it would be perfect for musicians who are often travelling. Mental training would also allow learning musical skills at home, even when no instruments are available. In our study, we examined mental training and strategies used in it. Our research used an exploratory method and an open interview in data collection. The subjects played four different musical pieces: two on the piano and two on the guitar. Both instruments were used to play a song that had been practised in the traditional way (with the instrument) and a song that had been practised mentally (without the instrument). The playing situations were recorded on video, and the subjects were interviewed in a stimulated recall style. The musical pieces were composed for the research, so they were unknown to the subjects. Our material consists of the video material of the playing performances and the transcript of the open interview, which has been analysed using content analysis. The subjects used exploitation of musical skills and exploitation of general cognitive skills as strategies for mental training. The musical skills that emerged were, for example, audacity, kinesthetics, and visualization. Common cognitive skills in this study included for example memorizing without musical context and committing to memory. Training strategies did not differ to any great extent between the guitar and the piano — although the subjects performed better when playing their main instrument. Training strategies were very similar when mental training was compared to traditional practice, but the musical strategies used differed slightly. The study showed that the subjects who obtained the best results from mental training were those who were able to use musical strategies as training strategies. Also, those subjects performed strongly on mental training who were able to “bundle” the limited capacity of their working memory through comprehensive understanding of music. Weaker performance was observed by those who used just general cognitive skills for training. In this case, thinking was not connected to music at all, instead the songs were learned more within the limits of short-term and low-capacity working memory

Distal radius fractures in the elderly population

We found no clear evidence of the clinical superiority of distal radius fracture surgery among older adults at one year.Surgical treatment, however, may yield a faster recovery to previous level of activity in elderly patients.With operative treatment, hardware-based problems may warrant secondary operations and implant removal, whereas in non-operative treatment, symptomatic loss of alignment and malunion can occur.In elderly patients, non-operative treatment can be considered to be the gold standard.Peer reviewe

Trends in scapular fractures- a nationwide 17-year study in Finland

Background: The aim of this study was to examine the trends in the number and incidence of scapular fractures causing hospitalization in the Finnish adult population between 1998 and 2014. Methods: We assessed the number and incidence of scapular fractures resulting in hospital admission and fixation with a plate in Finland in 1998 through 2014 using the Finnish National Hospital Discharge Register as the database. In each year, the study included the entire Finnish adult population. Results: A total of 3843 adult patients with scapular fractures were hospitalized, and the incidence of fracture increased from 4.8 (per 100,000 person-years) in 1998 to 6.6 in 2014. The fracture was operated on with plating in 476 cases (12.4%). The annual number and incidence of scapular fixation with plates did not show constant trend changes during the study period except in the years 2011 through 2013, when there was a sudden increase in the number of these operations. This increase leveled off in 2014. Conclusion: The incidence of hospital-treated scapular fractures increased in Finland in 1998 through 2014. Treatment of scapular fractures with a plate did not show consistent trend changes in Finland during this period.Peer reviewe

The impact of full-thickness rotator cuff tear on shoulder function and quality of life in patients who sustain a proximal humerus fracture—a prospective cohort study

Publisher Copyright: © 2021 The Author(s)Background: Only few studies have investigated the impact of rotator cuff integrity on patients with proximal humerus fracture (PHF). We aimed to determine if the presence of a rotator cuff tear impairs shoulder function and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) after nonsurgically treated PHF. Methods: Sixty-seven patients with PHF were recruited prospectively in a cohort. Presence of a full-thickness rotator cuff tear was determined by ultrasound examination. After 6 and 12 months, Constant-Murley Score; Disability of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand; the Visual Analog Scale; EuroQol-5 Domain; and the 15D scores were compared between the patients with a rotator cuff tear and patients with an intact rotator cuff. Results: The prevalence of a full-thickness rotator cuff tear was 34%. After 12 months, the mean Constant-Murley Score was 65.7 (standard deviation 16.3) in the intact rotator cuff group vs. 53.9 (16.0) in the rotator cuff tear group (mean diff. 11.8, 95% confidence interval 2.5; 21.2) and was found to be a clinically relevant difference. A significantly lower HRQoL was found on the EuroQol-5 Domain score after 12 months in the rotator cuff tear group with a median score of 1 (interquartile range 0.23) in the intact rotator cuff group vs. 0.75 (interquartile range 0.34) in the rotator cuff tear group (P = .03). In the remaining outcome measures, no statistically significant between-group differences were detected. Conclusion: Rotator cuff tear in older adults with nonsurgically treated PHF may be considered a prognostic factor for poorer shoulder function and HRQoL. This knowledge can support the planning of treatment.Peer reviewe

Long-term subjective results and radiologic prognosis of a distal radius fracture in working-aged patients : a prognostic cohort study of 201 patients

Objective: To investigate long-term outcomes associated with distal radius fracture (DRF) in working-aged patients. The authors hypothesized that the majority of patients experience no permanent loss of function when measured with patient-rated wrist evaluation (PRWE). Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study of patients with a DRF aged between 18 and 65 years. The primary outcome measure was PRWE score at a minimum of 4 years after DRF. Secondary outcome measures were pain catastrophizing scale (PCS) and radiographic measurements. Results: Of 201 patients included, 179 were primarily treated non-operatively with a 5-week cast treatment and 22 were primarily operated. The mean follow-up duration was 5 years. The mean PRWE score was 10.9 (95% confidence interval 8.4, 13.4) and median PRWE was 3.5 (interquartile range, 0.0–13.0). There was minor correlation between PCS and PRWE score (correlation coefficient [CC] 0.3), and between PRWE score and dorsal angulation of the fracture measured after closed reduction (CC 0.2) and in one-week follow-up radiographs (CC 0.2). Conclusions: Working-aged patients seem to gain nearly normal wrist function after DRF in longer follow-up. Pain catastrophizing appears to correlate with long-term treatment outcome.publishedVersionPeer reviewe

Nordic Innovative Trials to Evaluate osteoPorotic Fractures (NITEP) Collaboration : The Nordic DeltaCon Trial protocol-non-operative treatment versus reversed total shoulder arthroplasty in patients 65 years of age and older with a displaced proximal humerus fracture: a prospective, randomised controlled trial

Introduction The proximal humerus fracture (PHF) is one of the most common fractures in the elderly. The majority of PHFs are treated non-operatively, while 15%-33% of patients undergo surgical treatment. Recent randomised controlled trial (RCT) and meta-analyses have shown that there is no difference in outcome between non-operative treatment and locking plate or hemi-arthroplasty. During the past decade, reverse total shoulder arthroplasty (RTSA) has gained popularity in the treatment of PHF, although there is a lack of RCTs comparing RTSA to non-operative treatment. Methods This is a prospective, single-blinded, randomised, controlled, multicentre and multinational trial comparing RTSA with non-operative treatment in displaced proximal humeral fractures in patients 65-85 years. The primary outcome in this study is QuickDASH-score measured at 2 years. Secondary outcomes include visual analogue scale for pain, grip strength, Oxford shoulder score, Constant score and the number of reoperations and complications. The hypothesis of the trial is that operative treatment with RTSA produces better outcome after 2 and 5 years measured with QuickDASH. Ethics and dissemination In this protocol, we describe the design, method and management of the Nordic DeltaCon trial. The ethical approval for the trial has been given by the Regional Committee for Medical and Health Research Ethics, Norway. There have been several examples in orthopaedics of innovations that result in failure after medium-term follow-ups. In order to prevent such failures and to increase our knowledge of RSTA, we feel a large-scale study of the effects of the surgery on the outcome that focuses on the complications and reoperations is warranted. After the trial 2-year follow-up, the results will be disseminated in a major orthopaedic publication.Peer reviewe

Aided communication, mind understanding and co-construction of meaning

Mind understanding allows for the adaptation of expressive language to a listener and is a core element when communicating new information to a communication partner. There is limited knowledge about the relationship between aided language and mind understanding. This study investigates this relationship using a communication task. The participants were 71 aided communicators using graphic symbols or spelling for expression (38/33 girls/boys) and a reference group of 40 speaking children (21/19 girls/boys), aged 5;0-15;11 years. The task was to describe, but not name, drawings to a communication partner. The partner could not see the drawing and had to infer what was depicted from the child's explanation. Dyads with aided communicators solved fewer items than reference dyads (64% vs 93%). The aided spellers presented more precise details than the symbol users (46% vs 38%). In the aided group, number of correct items correlated with verbal comprehension and age.Peer reviewe