Accessibility Rating Form for Websites and Other Online Platforms

Background. This file provides a coding form developed to judge how accessible websites and other online platforms are to users. Accessibility may be defined as the ease to which a person can perceive content and navigate material (Ross & Ross, 2021). Users are encouraged to adapt this form for their use. Purpose. The rating form can be used to judge the pages of online media, using 14 criteria under two areas: Accessible Media and Accessible Design. One of three grades could be assigned to each criterion: Not Accessible (0 point), Somewhat Accessible (1 point), Accessible (2 points), adapted from published research by Wallace et al. (2010). Initially, this form was developed to rate the website created using the Learning Management System platform, Canvas (Instructure, n.d.), which was adapted as a research survey website. Form validity and reliability. This form was based on guidelines for accessible websites, provided from the World Wide Web Consortium (Zahra, 2019). This form was found to have excellent rater agreement within a preliminary study, which was presented at the 2022 Southwest Chapter Conference Meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine (October 28-29, Costa Mesa, California). The intraclass coefficient statistic was used (four raters, M = .91, LL = .82, UL = .94; Landers, 2015). Results were interpreted using Cicchetti’s (1994) interpretive cut-points. Further detail is reported in the published abstract to the study’s presentation (Wu et al., in press)

Evaluating Research Survey Websites in Kinesiology: A Case Study Using An Accessibility Rating Form

Advancing equity in the research and educational practice of kinesiology requires intentional efforts to ensure access divides do not widen nor persist (Ross et al., in press, JOPERD). PURPOSE: Given knowledge of suitability assessment of materials (SAM) principles supports the equitable design of lay print and online material, we evaluated the extent they would also support developing a research survey website consistent with accessibility guidelines for digital technology. METHODS: The study website was adapted from the Canvas learning management system. A cross-sectional formative assessment was performed. Using their knowledge of SAM principles (eg, clear layout, text ≤ 8th grade reading level), the second and third author (JDT, RFH) constructed the website webpages (eg, site welcome page, online questionnaire; Jun.-Jul. 2022). The first author (YSW), using guidelines from two reputable sources (ie, a Canvas tutorial and W3C website), developed a 14-item accessibility rating form to critically appraise the website’s 10 webpages (ie, 1 = Not Accessible, 2 = Somewhat Accessible, 3 = Accessible; Wallace et al., 2010, JPAH). Authors 1-4 then performed a formative assessment of the adapted Canvas websites’ accessibility independently (Jul.-Aug. 2022). Form reliability was assessed using the intraclass correlation coefficient and its interpretive cut-points for average absolute-rater agreement (Cicchetti, 1994, Psych Assess; Landers, 2015, Winnower). RESULTS: Average rater agreement was excellent per webpage (M = .91, LL = .82, UL = .94). Mean webpage score ranged between 2.55 (±0.78) to 2.77 (±0.58). Informational pages (eg, welcome page) had greater accessibility than interactive pages (eg, forms). Five discrepant items were systematic, resulting in redundant rater differences (eg, keyboard navigation was hard to notice). All discrepancies were resolved with 100% consensus. CONCLUSION: The findings of the present study suggest knowledge of SAM principles ensures developers can design lay friendly and accessible research survey websites. They further suggest rating forms inclusive of digital accessibility guidelines should be used as a supplement to further meet accessibility and equity goals. We will share our form, then discuss our results using the universal design for learning framework

Promoting Inclusion of Adults with Disabilities in Local Fitness Programs: A Needs Assessment

Fit-Pals* is a university-based, service-learning program with a mission to prepare adults with disabilities to engage in lifelong physical activity. We conducted a Needs Assessment to evaluate recent programmatic partnerships with community-based fitness organizations. We aimed to (1) evaluate organizational perceptions of Fit-Pals’ partnership efforts, and (2) identify perceived organizational needs to improve inclusion practices. Representatives from each of our seven partner organizations participated in an online-survey, follow-up interviews, and a stakeholder meeting. A thematic analysis of survey and interview responses highlighted areas for programmatic growth related to training in disability awareness and fitness accommodations, and improved communication across all partnership levels. Our stakeholder meeting further identified gaps between advocacy for disability inclusion, and awareness of actionable steps to effectively enact this within organizations. Drawing from the literature we discuss Fit-Pals’ efforts to increase the capacity of our community partners to support members with disabilities. *Pseudony

Are flexibility and muscle-strengthening activities associated with functional limitation?

This retrospective cohort study examined the relationship between self-reported participation in flexibility and muscular strengthening activities and the development of functional limitation (i.e., once an individual has difficulty with or becomes unable to perform activities of daily living). Data were obtained from 1318 adults (mean age 49.5 ​± ​9.7 years; 98.7% Caucasian; 14.9% female) enrolled in the Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study from 1979 to 2004 and free of functional limitation at baseline. Mail-back health surveys were used to prospectively determine incident functional limitation. Participation in muscle-strengthening and flexibility activities was assessed via self-report. Adjusted logistic regression analyses were used to determine the odds ratios (OR) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals for developing functional limitation during follow-up based on participation in general and specific categories of flexibility (‘Stretching’, ‘Calisthenics’, or ‘Exercise Class’) and muscle-strengthening activities (‘Calisthenics’, ‘Free Weights’, ‘Weight Training Machines’, or ‘Other’). Overall, 42.6% of the sample reported incident functional limitation. After adjusting for potential confounders (e.g., age, sex, cardiometabolic risk factors), those who reported performing muscle-strengthening activities in general (n ​= ​685) were at lower risk of developing functional limitation [OR ​= ​0.79 (0.63–1.00)]. In addition, the specific flexibility activities of stretching (n ​= ​491) and calisthenics (n ​= ​122) were associated with 24% and 38% decreased odds of incident functional limitation, respectively. General muscle-strengthening, stretching, and calisthenics activities are prospectively associated with decreased risk of incident functional limitation in generally healthy, middle-aged and older adults. Thus, both public health and rehabilitation programs should highlight the importance of flexibility and muscle-strengthening activities during adulthood to help preserve functional capacity

Exceptional Response to Pembrolizumab for Treatment of Metastatic Chemorefractory Endometrial Carcinoma in a Patient with Lynch Syndrome: A Case Report

Advanced endometrial cancer is associated with poor outcomes and few treatment options exist. Recently, the US Federal Drug Administration approved pembrolizumab for the treatment of endometrial cancers that are deficient in mismatch repair and have high microsatellite instability (MSI). Lynch syndrome is an autosomal dominant disease that causes MSI-high endometrial cancer. We report a case of a 46-year-old woman with Lynch syndrome and advanced endometrial cancer who experienced progressive disease after treatment with chemotherapy with carboplatin and paclitaxel. She was then treated with single-agent pembrolizumab and had an exceptional response. She was noted to have a significant decrease in the size of a large uterine mass extending into the vagina and vulva, as well as decrease in the size of lymphadenopathy. Data are limited at this time for patients with Lynch syndrome treated with single-agent pembrolizumab. Our case report seeks to add to the body of literature that suggests that this patient population may particularly benefit from this novel therapy

Self‐management for adults with epilepsy: Aggregate Managing Epilepsy Well Network findings on depressive symptoms

ObjectiveTo assess depressive symptom outcomes in a pooled sample of epilepsy self‐management randomized controlled trials (RCTs) from the Managing Epilepsy Well (MEW) Network integrated research database (MEW DB).MethodsFive prospective RCTs involving 453 adults with epilepsy compared self‐management intervention (n = 232) versus treatment as usual or wait‐list control outcomes (n = 221). Depression was assessed with the nine‐item Patient Health Questionnaire. Other variables included age, gender, race, ethnicity, education, income, marital status, seizure frequency, and quality of life. Follow‐up assessments were collapsed into a visit 2 and a visit 3; these were conducted postbaseline.ResultsMean age was 43.5 years (SD = 12.6), nearly two‐thirds were women, and nearly one‐third were African American. Baseline sample characteristics were mostly similar in the self‐management intervention group versus controls. At follow‐up, the self‐management group had a significantly greater reduction in depression compared to controls at visit 2 (P < .0001) and visit 3 (P = .0002). Quality of life also significantly improved in the self‐management group at visit 2 (P = .001) and visit 3 (P = .005).SignificanceAggregate MEW DB analysis of five RCTs found depressive symptom severity and quality of life significantly improved in individuals randomized to self‐management intervention versus controls. Evidence‐based epilepsy self‐management programs should be made more broadly available in neurology practices.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/151320/1/epi16322_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/151320/2/epi16322.pd

Cellular and Molecular Anatomy of the Human Neuromuscular Junction

The neuromuscular junction (NMJ) plays a fundamental role in transferring information from lower motor neuron to skeletal muscle to generate movement. It is also an experimentally accessible model synapse routinely studied in animal models to explore fundamental aspects of synaptic form and function. Here, we combined morphological techniques, super-resolution imaging, and proteomic profiling to reveal the detailed cellular and molecular architecture of the human NMJ. Human NMJs were significantly smaller, less complex, and more fragmented than mouse NMJs. In contrast to mice, human NMJs were also remarkably stable across the entire adult lifespan, showing no signs of age-related degeneration or remodeling. Super-resolution imaging and proteomic profiling revealed distinctive distribution of active zone proteins and differential expression of core synaptic proteins and molecular pathways at the human NMJ. Taken together, these findings reveal human-specific cellular and molecular features of the NMJ that distinguish them from comparable synapses in other mammalian species.</p

A case of advanced infantile myofibromatosis harboring a novel MYH10‐RET fusion

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/137282/1/pbc26377_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/137282/2/pbc26377.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/137282/3/pbc26377-sup-0002-text.pd