Highly Active Middle School Athletes Demonstrate Poor Motor Skill Proficiency

BACKGROUND

Fundamental movement skills (FMS) are critical components to lifelong participation in sports and physical activity. With the rise in early sports specialization, mastery of motor skills may be limited in youth athletes. The purpose of this study was to assess FMS proficiency in highly active middle school athletes and determine whether proficiency differed between specialization levels and sex.

HYPOTHESIS

(1) Most athletes would fail to achieve proficiency in all domains of the Test of Gross Motor Development (TGMD-2), (2) highly specialized athletes would demonstrate lower proficiency in all domains of the TGMD-2, and (3) male athletes would demonstrate higher proficiency than female athletes.

STUDY DESIGN

Cross-sectional.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Level 4.

METHODS

A total of 91 athletes were recruited (44 male, 12.6 ± 0.9 years). Activity level was quantified using the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) Pediatric Functional Activity Brief Scale (Pedi-FABS), specialization level was determined using the Jayanthi Specialization Scale, and the TGMD-2 was used to assess FMS proficiency. Descriptive statistics were used to describe gross motor, locomotor, and object control percentile rank. A 1-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to assess differences in percentile rank between low, moderate, and high specialization groups and independent samples t tests were used to compare sexes (α < 0.05).

RESULTS

Mean Pedi-FABS score was 23.6 ± 4.9. In total, 24.2%, 38.5%, and 37.4% of athletes classified as low, moderate, and highly specialized, respectively. Mean percentile ranks were 56.2%, 64.7%, and 62.6% for locomotor, object control, and gross motor domains, respectively. No athlete achieved a percentile rank >99% in any domain of the TGMD-2, and there was no significant difference between specialization groups or sex.

CONCLUSION

Despite high activity levels, no athlete demonstrated proficiency in any domain of the TGMD-2, and there was no difference in proficiency between specialization levels or by sex.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE

Sport participation, regardless of level, does not ensure adequate mastery of FMS.

Intrinsic Evolution of Analog Circuits Using Field Programmable Gate Arrays

Evolvable hardware is a field of study exploring the application of evolutionary algorithms to hardware systems during design, operation, or both. The work presented here focuses on the use of field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), a type of dynamically reconfigurable hardware device typically used for electronic prototyping in conjunction with a newly created open-source platform for performing intrinsic analog evolvable hardware experiments. This work targets the reproduction of seminal field experiments that generated complex analog dynamics of unclocked FPGAs evolved through genetic manipulation of their binary circuit representation: the bitstream. Further, it demonstrates the intrinsic evolution of two nontrivial analog circuits with intriguing properties, amplitude maximization and pulse oscillation, as well as the robustness of evolved circuits to temperature variation and across-chip circuit translation.

Polarization enhancement technique for nuclear quadrupole resonance detection

We demonstrate a dramatic increase in the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of a nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR) signal by using a polarization enhancement technique. By first applying a static magnetic field to pre-polarize one spin subsystem of a material, and then allowing that net polarization to be transferred to the quadrupole subsystem, we increased the SNR of a sample of ammonium nitrate by one-order of magnitude.

Case definitions, diagnostic algorithms, and priorities in encephalitis: consensus statement of the international encephalitis consortium

BACKGROUND

Encephalitis continues to result in substantial morbidity and mortality worldwide. Advances in diagnosis and management have been limited, in part, by a lack of consensus on case definitions, standardized diagnostic approaches, and priorities for research.

METHODS

In March 2012, the International Encephalitis Consortium, a committee begun in 2010 with members worldwide, held a meeting in Atlanta to discuss recent advances in encephalitis and to set priorities for future study.

RESULTS

We present a consensus document that proposes a standardized case definition and diagnostic guidelines for evaluation of adults and children with suspected encephalitis. In addition, areas of research priority, including host genetics and selected emerging infections, are discussed.

CONCLUSIONS

We anticipate that this document, representing a synthesis of our discussions and supported by literature, will serve as a practical aid to clinicians evaluating patients with suspected encephalitis and will identify key areas and approaches to advance our knowledge of encephalitis.

A Preliminary Exploration of the Effects of a 6-week Interactive Video Dance Exercise Program in an Adult Population

PURPOSE

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of a 6-week interactive video dance game (IVDG) program on adult participants' cardiorespiratory status and body mass index (BMI).

METHODS

Twenty-seven healthy adult participants attended IVDG sessions over a 6-week period. Participants completed pre- and post-testing consisting of a submaximal VO(2) treadmill test, assessment of resting heart rate (RHR) and blood pressure (BP), BMI, and general health questionnaires. Data were analyzed using descriptives, paired t-tests to assess pre-to post-testing differences, and one-way ANOVAs to analyze variables among select groups of participants. Questionnaire data was manually coded and assessed.

RESULTS

Twenty participants attended at least 75% of available sessions and were used in data analysis. Mean BMI decreased significantly (from 26.96 kg/m(2) to 26.21 kg/m(2); 2.87%) and cardiorespiratory fitness measured by peak VO(2) increased significantly (from 20.63 ml/kg/min to 21.69 ml/kg/min; 5.14%). Most participants reported that the IVDG program was a good workout, and that they were encouraged to continue or start an exercise routine. Forty percent reported improvements in sleep, and nearly half stated they had or were considering purchasing a home version of a video dance game.

CONCLUSIONS

Interactive video dance game is an effective and enjoyable exercise program for adults who wish to decrease their BMI and improve components of cardiorespiratory fitness.

Requirement for the SLP-76 adaptor GADS in T cell development

GADS is an adaptor protein implicated in CD3 signaling because of its ability to link SLP-76 to LAT. A GADS-deficient mouse was generated by gene targeting, and the function of GADS in T cell development and activation was examined. GADS- CD4-CD8- thymocytes exhibited a severe block in proliferation but still differentiated into mature T cells. GADS- thymocytes failed to respond to CD3 cross-linking in vivo and were impaired in positive and negative selection. Immunoprecipitation experiments revealed that the association between SLP-76 and LAT was uncoupled in GADS- thymocytes. These observations indicate that GADS is a critical adaptor for CD3 signaling.

Autoreactive B cells escape clonal deletion by expressing multiple antigen receptors

IgH and L chain transgenes encoding a phosphocholine (PC)-specific Ig receptor were introduced into recombinase-activating gene (Rag-2-/-) knockout mice. The PC-specific B cells that developed behaved like known autoreactive lymphocytes. They were 1) developmentally arrested in the bone marrow, 2) unable to secrete Ab, 3) able to escape clonal deletion and develop into B1 B cells in the peritoneal cavity, and 4) rescued by overexpression of bcl-2. A second IgL chain was genetically introduced into Rag-2-/- knockout mice expressing the autoreactive PC-specific Ig receptor. These dual L chain-expressing mice had B cells in peripheral lymphoid organs that coexpressed both anti-PC Ab as well as Ab employing the second available L chain that does not generate an autoreactive PC-specific receptor. Coexpression of the additional Ig molecules rescued the autoreactive anti-PC B cells and relieved the functional anergy of the anti-PC-specific B cells, as demonstrated by detection of circulating autoreactive anti-PC-Abs. We call this novel mechanism by which autoreactive B cells can persist by compromising allelic exclusion receptor dilution. Rescue of autoreactive PC-specific B cells would be beneficial to the host because these Abs are vital for protection against pathogens such as Streptococcus pneumoniae.

Early detection of Rasmussen's syndrome by brain SPECT imaging

The authors describe a patient with Rasmussen's syndrome detected by grossly abnormal results of Tc-99m HMPAO SPECT brain imaging obtained with a single-headed camera. Results of magnetic resonance imaging and cerebrospinal fluid examinations were normal.

Determination of cefsulodin, cefmenoxime, and cefadroxil as residues on surfaces

Cefsulodin, cefmenoxime, and cefadroxil are degraded instantaneously in aqueous sodium hypochlorite, sodium hypochlorite-detergent, or alkaline detergent solutions. These alkaline solutions are used to clean surfaces that have been exposed to the cephalosporins. The cleaned surfaces are monitored for residual drug levels (microgram) using a wet swab-dry swab technique. After extraction from the swabs, the content of the respective cephalosporin is determined in the solution by high-performance liquid chromatography. The limit of detection for each of the compounds is 0.1 microgram/ml. Recoveries from nonporous surfaces ranged from 56 to 102%.

Psychological test and demographic variables associated with retention of narcotic addicts in treatment

The relationships of psychological and demographic variables to retention in treatment of narcotic addicts were examined. Age and race were not related to retention. The IQ's of subjects retained longer seemed to be higher but the relationship did not reach statistical significance with this sample size. Legal pressure was clearly associated with longer retention as were higher scores on the Suitable for Treatment Scale. Legal pressure seemed to exert its major influence early in treatment. Treatment center variables and patient variables probably interact to determine retention.

Exposure and contamination of the air and employees of a pentachlorophenol plant, Idaho--1972

A pentachlorophenol (PCP) wood treatment plant was studied to determine PCP exposure to people by occupation and to the plant by work area. This plant operates on a year-round basis with a 25 percent increase in production from May through October. Approximately 2.5 million board feet of timber are processed annually. Samples were taken in the morning of the second work week of each month for 5 consecutive months. Samples consisted of serum and urine from the employees and air from locations throughout the plant work area. All samples were analyzed for PCP residue. Peripheral blood was used to culture cells to investigate possible chromosomal aberrations.