Comparative Analysis of Gait Interventions For Pediatric Cerebral Palsy

Spastic cerebral palsy (CP) is the most common motor disability in childhood, affecting 1 in 345 children in the U.S. Functional gait training (FGT) has been used with and without electrical stimulation (ES) to improve gait.The purpose of this study is to evaluate existing research on the effectiveness of FGT with and without ES to improve gait speed and endurance, step length, and gross motor function in young children with spastic CP. The investigators evaluated 6 studies aimed at analyzing the effects of FGT with and without ES on gait function in children with spastic CP. Three of the studies were meta-analyses, which examined a combined total of 73 studies from 1961 to 2019 with 430 participants. Based on the review of literature, FGT without ES resulted in better gait outcomes as compared to FGT with ES. In terms of gait speed, FGT without ES had an effect size of .53 (95% Cl, 0.15-0.92), indicating a large effect size as compared to an effect size of .14 (95% Cl, 0.017-0.15), indicating a small effect size. In addition, the research findings indicate that a major limitation of adding ES is that the induced muscle activation leads to an overall decrease in the efficiency of muscular contraction, and an increase in neuromuscular fatigue. Finally, FGT without ES is the most cost effective intervention in correcting gait dysfunction in children with spastic CP. Keywords: Cerebral Palsy Functional Gait Training Electrical Stimulation Gait Speed Step Length Gait Endurance Gross Motor Functio

Foaming volume and foam stability

A method of measuring foaming volume is described and investigated to establish the critical factors in its operation. Data on foaming volumes and foam stabilities are given for a series of hydrocarbons and for a range of concentrations of aqueous ethylene-glycol solutions. It is shown that the amount of foam formed depends on the machinery of its production as well as on properties of the liquid, whereas the stability of the foam produced, within specified mechanical limitations, is primarily a function of the liquid

Identifying Genetic Variants in Adolescents With Oppositional Defiant Disorders and/or Conduct Disorders: A Brief Report

PROBLEM To add to diversity in our state biobank, we explored the feasibility of collecting genetic material from adolescents with oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) and/or conduct disorder (CD) and their family members. We also preliminarily explored genetic factors associated with ODD and/or CD by comparing participant data to 1000 Genome Project data on minor allele frequencies. METHODS Adolescents with ODD and/or CD and family members provided saliva samples for genetic testing. We evaluated five single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), respectively, in the dopamine receptor subtype D2, dopamine receptor subtype D3, dopamine beta-hydroxylase, dopamine transporter gene SLC6A3, and alpha-2-adrenergic receptor genes. Fisher's exact tests were used to examine differences in minor allele frequencies for each SNP. FINDINGS Thirty-one viable samples were genotyped from 15 affected adolescents and 16 unaffected family members; the 60% consent rate reflected high feasibility. Compared with the 1000 Genome Project frequencies, affected adolescents had higher frequencies of the genetic variant in the dopamine receptor subtype D2 (p = .05) and dopamine beta-hydroxylase (p = 0.03), but not of the other three SNPs examined. CONCLUSIONS Collecting genetic materials from an ethnically diverse sample of affected adolescents and their families is feasible. We offer practical suggestions to strengthen the integrity of future research studies

Raising the Level of Nursing Involvement in the National Precision Medicine Initiative: An Example

PURPOSE The Precision Medicine Initiative (PMI) goal of ushering in a new and more effective era of health care that benefits all Americans requires two critical and interdependent components: a cohort assembly of 1 million or more Americans who reflect the diversity of the United States of America and an interdisciplinary workforce that includes nursing. The purpose of this article is to provide an example of nursing involvement in PM, specifically as related to gathering biospecimens (saliva) from vulnerable, understudied adolescents with disruptive behavior disorders and their family members. SOURCE(S) First, we provide a brief description of important concepts related to PM as well as current roles of nurses in PM. Then, we share lessons learned from our feasibility study aimed at increasing the diversity of our statewide cohort assembly that has provided biospecimens for the Indiana Biobank. CONCLUSION Nurses can definitely contribute to biobanks in support of the PMI. This article is a call to action for nurses to take their rightful place in PM

Effect of apparatus characteristics on anxiety-like behavior in young adult and old mice of both sexes assessed by the elevated plus maze assay

Incidence of anxiety-like disorders in humans has been shown to decrease with aging; however, it is still under debate whether there are similarities in mice, which would support the use of mouse models in understanding the neuronal network changes that regulate anxiety-like behavior in aging. One of the most common tests used to assess anxiety-like behavior in laboratory animals is the elevated plus maze (EPM). Although several variables, such as room brightness and width of the maze arms, have been shown to influence the spontaneous animal behavior during the EPM test, none of these variables have ever been evaluated in aging to understand their possible differential effect on younger and older mice. We therefore decided to investigate the effect of apparatus construction on young adult and old mice of both sexes on EPM test performance. Our results show that distance traveled during the test is the variable that is most affected by apparatus characteristics independent of age and sex. We also found that apparatus construction was key in demonstrating that old mice spent more time and had relatively more entries in the open arms as compared to young mice, suggesting a decrease in anxiety-like behavior with age. Taken together, our data demonstrate that EPM apparatus characteristics dramatically affect test outcome with a wider arm apparatus being more effective in revealing age-dependent changes in anxiety-like behavior, thus, suggesting the use of a wider arm EPM when conducting aging studies in mice