Assessment of motor skills and functional performance in pediatric population

textThe early years (1-7 years) provide a window of opportunity to develop fundamental movement skills (FMS) and these are evident during sports and recreational activities. If children cannot build a diverse motor repertoire during the fundamental period they may face a 'proficiency barrier' to gain expertise in context specific movement skills. For typical 7 year olds we make the assumption that their cognitive-motor skills qualify them to perform complex movement activities, however children with neurodevelopmental delay (ND) have been shown to have deficits in cognitive as well as motor functions. A variety of assessment tools are focused on physical competence for activities of daily living in this subset of population. However they are limited in providing information about activities that require coordination of movement sequencing and executive functions. Hence the purpose of this study was to assess and establish developmental trajectories of cognitive and complex motor functions in children and adolescents with and without neurodevelopmental delay. The assessment included an iPad based program that measured executive functions through tests of executive function, trail making test(TMT), reaction times, processing speed test (PST) and static balance on 39 subjects between the age of 7-14 years. The results showed that the choice reaction times were significantly higher in the ND group than the control group. The balance, TMT-B, and the PST showed weak significance but moderate effect size. The hop tests did not show significant differences between the two groups. These results depict the challenges faced by the ND group when subject to complex tasks requiring advanced skills.Kinesiology and Health Educatio

Peripheral Ossifying Fibroma in the Oral Cavity: MRI Findings

The peripheral ossifying fibroma, a benign gingival overgrowth, occurs mainly in the anterior portion of the maxilla in young adults. The size of the lesion is usually less than 1.5 cm. We report a case of peripheral ossifying fibroma overlying the mandibular alveolar ridge of a 55-year-old female. MR scans showed a large exophytic soft tissue mass overlying mandibular alveolar ridge. The tumor revealed peripheral calcifications with slight erosion of adjacent cortical plate

Data Aggregation & Transfer in Data Centric Network Using Spin Protocol in WSN

The advancement in the wireless communications and electronics has led to the growth of low-cost sensor networks. Due to which the sensor networks is part of different application areas now. Low-cost, low-power and multifunctional small-sized sensor devices are the great end-products of wireless sensor network technologies. These sensor nodes together in a group form a sensing network. A sensor network can offer access to data anytime, anywhere by gathering, processing, evaluating and distributing data. The evolution of information sending in wireless sensor networks is boosting to devise newer and more advanced routing strategies. Many strategies have considered data collection and data dissemination. In this project, the data produced by the sensor nodes is aggregated and provide the further guaranteed data transmission to sink node/ base station using clustering mechanism and node concentration with SPIN protocol. The proposed scheme provides increased network lifetime, better data gathering and period of stability as compared to M-LEACH protocol

Classification of Motivational Dispositions: A Psychological Systems Perspective of Academic Behavior

Academic motivation is a complex psychological construct. It is multifaceted, hierarchical, dynamic, and developmental in nature. Students exhibit substantial heterogeneity in the ways in which academic motivation develops and manifests in short and long-term behavior. Much of the prior literature has considered motivated behavior in an academic subject like math to be the result of math motivation alone. This dissertation draws from the Eccles’ expectancy-value theory of achievement motivation, which posits that academic behavior is the result of subjective psychological perceptions of competence and task-value, in order to investigate the hierarchical and dynamic nature of motivational dispositions and their associations with academic behavior. In Chapter 2, I use variable and person-centered approaches to investigate the development of math and English self-concept of ability throughout adolescence and their dual role in the process of selecting a college major. I demonstrate that the relationship between math and English self-concept changes over time, from being positively correlated to uncorrelated to negatively correlated between sixth and twelfth grade. Cluster analyses uncover heterogeneity in the patterns of math and English self-concept that students hold, and these clusters are predictive of the college major that students eventually select. The cluster also reveal gender differences in self-concept hierarchies that ultimately relate to college major choice. In Chapter 3, I use longitudinal structural equation modeling to study the development of academic task-values in high school. I focus on the role of dimensional comparisons, which refer to cross-domain influences, across the domains of math, English, biology, and physical science. Results indicate that achievement relates to cross domain subjective task values (STV), and STV in 10th grade relates to cross domain STV in 12th grade. STVs in 12th grade relate to college major choice. In Chapter 4, I use cluster analysis and hierarchical logistic regression to investigate daily academic behavior in an undergraduate online course. I synthesize theories of motivated behavior and demonstrate that unique profiles of subjective task values and emotions relate to both expectations of task attainment and actual task attainment. In Chapter 5, I conclude with some critiques regarding the scientific study of motivation, such as problems with modeling latent constructs using linear models. I then present a dynamic systems approach from the physics to modeling human motivation

Acetylene diffusion in Na-Y zeolite

Study of diffusivity of acetylene adsorbed in Na-Y zeolite by quasi-elastic neutron scattering (QENS) measurements at temperatures of 300, 325 and 350 K is reported. A model in which the acetylene molecules undergo random-walk diffusion characterized by a Gaussian distribution of jump lengths inside zeolite cages describes the data consistently. The diffusion constant, residence time between jumps and root mean square jump length are determined

Effect of RF power on the structural, optical and gas sensing properties of RF-​sputtered Al doped ZnO thin films

The effect of Radio Frequency (RF) power on the properties of magnetron sputtered Al doped ZnO thin films and the related sensor properties are investigated. A series of 2 wt​% Al doped ZnO; Zn0.98Al0.02O (AZO) thin films prepd. with magnetron sputtering at different RF powers, are examd. The structural results reveal a good adhesive nature of thin films with quartz substrates as well as increasing thickness of the films with increasing RF power. Besides, the increasing RF power is found to improve the crystallinity and grain growth as confirmed by X-​ray diffraction. On the other hand, the optical transmittance is significantly influenced by the RF power, where the transparency values achieved are higher than 82​% for all the AZO thin films and the estd. optical band gap energy is found to decrease with RF power due to an increase in the crystallite size as well as the film thickness. In addn., the defect induced luminescence at low temp. (77 K) and room temp. (300 K) was studied through photoluminescence spectroscopy, it is found that the defect d. of electronic states of the Al3+ ion increases with an increase of RF power due to the increase in the thickness of the film and the crystallite size. The gas sensing behavior of AZO films was studied for NO2 at 350 °C. The AZO film shows a good response towards NO2 gas and also a good relationship between the response and the NO2 concn., which is modeled using an empirical formula. The sensing mechanism of NO2 is discussed

Outcomes after Trifocal Femoral Fractures

Trifocal femur fractures are those of the femoral neck, diaphysis, and distal femur. These high-energy injuries predominantly occur in young people with the potential for long-term complications and disability. We present the cases of two men who were treated with proximal dynamic hip screws and distal periarticular locking plates to effectively manage trifocal femur fractures. Our cases have shown union at 2 years with good functional outcomes without the need for reintervention. We provide evidence for a successful surgical treatment option for these rare and complex injuries

Innovative biofilm inhibition and anti-microbial behavior of molybdenum sulfide nanostructures generated by microwave-assisted solvothermal route

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