Normative, validation, and reliability studies of the Nine-Hole Peg Test scores with children

The purpose of this study was to establish norms for fine motor dexterity skills on elementary school children five to ten years old and conduct reliability and validity studies utilizing the Nine-Hole Peg Test. Sample included 1,020 students in ten elementary schools in the Las Vegas area. As children got older, their fine motor speed increased. Significant gender differences were indicated in dexterity in all ages, but only in the dominant hand. Moderately high test-retest reliability and high interrater reliability were obtained. Strong correlation between the NHPT and Purdue Pegboard Test scores provided concurrent validity of the NHPT. Significant difference in dexterity scores between regular and special education groups provided construct validity evidence. Students provided with demonstration and verbal directions showed faster dexterity speed than those with only verbal directions. This study has supported the Nine-Hole Peg Test as an effective screening tool for fine motor dexterity in school-age children

Optimization of adsorptive removal of α-toluic acid by CaO2 nanoparticles using response surface methodology

The present work addresses the optimization of process parameters for adsorptive removal of α-toluic acid by calcium peroxide (CaO2) nanoparticles using response surface methodology (RSM). CaO2 nanoparticles were synthesized by chemical precipitation method and confirmed by Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and high-resolution TEM (HRTEM) analysis which shows the CaO2 nanoparticles size range of 5–15 nm. A series of batch adsorption experiments were performed using CaO2 nanoparticles to remove α-toluic acid from the aqueous solution. Further, an experimental based central composite design (CCD) was developed to study the interactive effect of CaO2 adsorbent dosage, initial concentration of α-toluic acid, and contact time on α-toluic acid removal efficiency (response) and optimization of the process. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed to determine the significance of the individual and the interactive effects of variables on the response. The model predicted response showed a good agreement with the experimental response, and the coefficient of determination, (R2) was 0.92. Among the variables, the interactive effect of adsorbent dosage and the initial α-toluic acid concentration was found to have more influence on the response than the contact time. Numerical optimization of process by RSM showed the optimal adsorbent dosage, initial concentration of α-toluic acid, and contact time as 0.03 g, 7.06 g/L, and 34 min respectively. The predicted removal efficiency was 99.50%. The experiments performed under these conditions showed α-toluic acid removal efficiency up to 98.05%, which confirmed the adequacy of the model prediction