The how and why of handgrip strength assessment

Introduction: Occupational therapists and physiotherapists routinely assess Hand grip Strength (HGS) to evaluate hand function. This study explored the experiences of clinicians who regularly assess and evaluate HGS including the testing protocol utilised, evaluation methods and the influence of various biological and functional factors. Method: This exploratory survey (n = 49) was distributed online to members of the Australian Hand Therapy Association. The questionnaire asked recipients to identify HGS testing protocols, evaluation methods, use of normative data, reasons for assessment and the influence of biological and functional factors on HGS. Demographic data was also collected. Results: Sixty-four percent of respondents were occupational therapists and 59% had over 10 years’ experience assessing HGS. The standardised American Society of Hand Therapists (ASHT) testing protocol was consistently adopted by only 67% of respondents . Variations in contraction time, scoring and evaluation methods were identified. Gender, age, employment and lifestyle were considered the functional and biological factors which influence HGS. Conclusion: This study details how and why occupational therapists and physiotherapists in Australia assess and evaluate HGS. Use of the ASHT testing protocol is not universal. Clinicians rely on the reason for assessment, clinical experience and practice context to determine how they assess and evaluate HGS

Radius of a Photon Beam with Orbital Angular Momentum

We analyze the transverse structure of the Gouy phase shift in light beams carrying orbital angular momentum and show that the Gouy radius $r_G$ characterizing the transverse structure grows as $\sqrt{2p+|\ell|+1}$ with the nodal number $p$ and photon angular momentum number $\ell$. The Gouy radius is shown to be closely related to the root-mean-square radius of the beam, and the divergence of the radius away from the focal plane is determined. Finally, we analyze the rotation of the Poynting vector in the context of the Gouy radius.Comment: 11 page

Playing Active Video Games may not develop movement skills: an intervention trial

Background: To investigate the impact of playing sports Active Video Games on children\u27s actual and perceived object control skills. Methods: Intervention children played Active Video Games for 6. weeks (1. h/week) in 2012. The Test of Gross Motor Development-2 assessed object control skill. The Pictorial Scale of Perceived Movement Skill Competence assessed perceived object control skill. Repeated measurements of object control and perceived object control were analysed for the whole sample, using linear mixed models, which included fixed effects for group (intervention or control) and time (pre and post) and their interaction. The first model adjusted for sex only and the second model also adjusted for age, and prior ball sports experience (yes/no). Seven mixed-gender focus discussions were conducted with intervention children after programme completion. Results: Ninety-five Australian children (55% girls; 43% intervention group) aged 4 to 8. years (M 6.2, SD 0.95) participated. Object control skill improved over time (p=0.006) but there was no significant difference (p=0.913) between groups in improvement (predicted means: control 31.80 to 33.53, SED=0.748; intervention 30.33 to 31.83, SED=0.835). A similar result held for the second model. Similarly the intervention did not change perceived object control in Model 1 (predicted means: control: 19.08 to 18.68, SED=0.362; intervention 18.67 to 18.88, SED=0.406) or Model 2. Children found the intervention enjoyable, but most did not perceive direct equivalence between Active Video Games and \u27real life\u27 activities. Conclusions: Whilst Active Video Game play may help introduce children to sport, this amount of time playing is unlikely to build skill

Identifying patterns of item missing survey data using latent groups: An observational study

Objectives: To examine whether respondents to a survey of health and physical activity and potential determinants could be grouped according to the questions they missed, known as ‘item missing’. Design: Observational study of longitudinal data. Setting: Residents of Brisbane, Australia. Participants: 6901 people aged 40–65 years in 2007. Materials and methods: We used a latent class model with a mixture of multinomial distributions and chose the number of classes using the Bayesian information criterion. We used logistic regression to examine if participants’ characteristics were associated with their modal latent class. We used logistic regression to examine whether the amount of item missing in a survey predicted wave missing in the following survey. Results: Four per cent of participants missed almost one-fifth of the questions, and this group missed more questions in the middle of the survey. Eighty-three per cent of participants completed almost every question, but had a relatively high missing probability for a question on sleep time, a question which had an inconsistent presentation compared with the rest of the survey. Participants who completed almost every question were generally younger and more educated. Participants who completed more questions were less likely to miss the next longitudinal wave. Conclusions: Examining patterns in item missing data has improved our understanding of how missing data were generated and has informed future survey design to help reduce missing data

Post-Operative Radiotherapy for Soft Tissue Sarcoma of the Anterior Compartment of the Thigh: Should the Sartorius Muscle be Included?

Purpose: The clinical target volume (CTV) of post-operative radiotherapy for soft tissue sarcoma of the limbs conventionally includes the whole of the transverse cross-section of the affected anatomical compartment. In the anterior thigh sartorius appears to lie within its own fascial compartment and can be safely excluded. We investigated the potential impact of omitting sartorius from the anterior muscle compartment on patients with soft tissue sarcoma of the thigh

Fundamental movement skills in relation to weekday and weekend physical activity in preschool children.

OBJECTIVES: To examine associations between fundamental movement skills and weekday and weekend physical activity among preschool children living in deprived communities. DESIGN: Cross-sectional observation study. METHODS: Six locomotor skills and 6 object-control skills were video-assessed using The Children's Activity and Movement in Preschool Study Motor Skills Protocol. Physical activity was measured via hip-mounted accelerometry. A total of 99 children (53% boys) aged 3-5 years (M 4.6, SD 0.5) completed all assessments. Multilevel mixed regression models were used to examine associations between fundamental movement skills and physical activity. Models were adjusted for clustering, age, sex, standardised body mass index and accelerometer wear time. RESULTS: Boys were more active than girls and had higher object-control skill competency. Total skill score was positively associated with weekend moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (p=0.034) but not weekday physical activity categories (p>0.05). When subdomains of skills were examined, object-control skills was positively associated with light physical activity on weekdays (p=0.008) and with light (p=0.033), moderate-to-vigorous (p=0.028) and light- and moderate-to-vigorous (p=0.008) physical activity at weekends. Locomotor skill competency was positively associated with moderate-to-vigorous physical activity on weekdays (p=0.016) and light physical activity during the weekend (p=0.035). CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that developing competence in both locomotor and object-control skills may be an important element in promoting an active lifestyle in young children during weekdays and at weekends

Construct validity of the pictorial scale of perceived movement skill competence

Objectives: The Pictorial Scale of Perceived Movement Skill Competence (PMSC) assesses young children\u27s perceptions of movement skill competence: 12 perceived Fundamental Movement skills (FMS; based on the Test of Gross Motor Development 2nd edition TGMD-2) and six Active Play activities (e.g. cycling). The main study purpose was to assess whether children\u27s movement perception scores fit within the imposed constructs of Active Play and FMS by testing the latent structure and construct validity of the PMSC. Design: Construct validation study. Methods: Participants were part of the Melbourne Infant Feeding, Activity and Nutrition Trial (InFANT). The latent structure of the PMSC responses was tested through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and Bayesian Structural Equation Modeling (BSEM). Internal consistency was conducted using polychoric correlation-based alphas. Results: The 303 children (boys 53.1%, n = 161) were aged 4-5 years (M = 4.7, SD = 0.46). The final model had an 18 item 3-factor solution with good fit indices (using CFA and BSEM). Factors were: Active Play (Bike, Board Paddle, Climb, Skate/Blade, Scooter, and Swim), Object Control - Hand Skills (Bounce, Catch, Hit, Throw), and FMS skills with a leg action (Gallop, Hop, Jump, Leap, Run, Step Slide, Kick, Roll). Alpha reliability values were: Active Play (0.78), Object Control-Hand Skills (0.76) and FMS-Dynamic Leg (0.84). Conclusion: Young children can distinguish between movement perceptions. The factors reflect the hypothesized structure in terms of FMS being distinguished from Active Play. Further research should investigate how and if these constructs change in children over time

Peripheral inflammation in prodromal Alzheimer's and Lewy body dementias.

OBJECTIVES: There is growing evidence for the role of systemic inflammation in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other neurodegenerative diseases; however the systemic inflammatory profile in dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) has never before been investigated. This study aimed to characterise systemic inflammatory mediators in established DLB and AD, as well as in their prodromal, mild cognitive impairment (MCI) phases. METHODS: We obtained plasma samples from patients with DLB (n=37), AD (n=20), MCI with DLB profile (n=38), MCI with AD profile (n=20) and healthy control subjects (n=20). The following inflammatory biomarkers were measured using Roche cobas c702 and Meso Scale Discovery V-Plex Plus: high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, interferon-gamma, interleukin (IL)-10, IL-12p70, IL-13, IL-1beta, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8 and tumour necrosis factor-alpha. RESULTS: We found significantly higher levels of IL-10, IL-1beta, IL-4 and IL-2 in both MCI groups (P<0.001), while there was no significant difference in inflammatory markers between dementia groups and controls. Furthermore, increased disease severity was associated with lower levels of IL-1beta, IL-2 and IL-4 (P<0.05). INTERPRETATION: We have shown for the first time that in both DLB and AD, increased peripheral inflammation occurs early at the MCI disease stages. These data support a role for inflammation early in the disease process, and have important implications for the stage of disease where trials of anti-inflammatory medication should be focused.We would like to acknowledge our funders; the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Newcastle Biomedical Research Unit in Lewy Body Dementia based at Newcastle upon Tyne NHS Foundation Trust and Newcastle University. Thanks to The Dementias and Neurodegenerative Diseases Research Network (DeNDRoN). The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR or the Department of Health. Eleanor King is also grateful to the Royal College of Psychiatrists Pathfinder Fellowship for the grant that was provided for this project. We would also like to thank Melanie Maitland and friends for their donations to our research in Lewy Body Dementi