The Effect of Therapeutic Horseback Riding on Gross Motor Function and Gait Speed in Children Who Are Developmentally Delayed

The purpose of this study was to measure the effects of a seven-week therapeutic horseback riding program and to determine if changes were retained after therapeutic riding was discontinued. A repeated-measures within-participants design was used to assess performance on the Gross Motor Function Measure and timed 10-meter walk in seven developmentally delayed children. A statistically significant improvement in gross motor function was found in post-intervention measures. Improvements were maintained seven weeks after therapeutic riding had ended. No considerable difference in gait speed was noted. This study indicates that therapeutic riding may lead to improvement in gross motor function in developmentally delayed children and that these improvements remain once therapeutic riding ceases.     

Complexity of visual stimuli affects visual illusion induced by sound

The fission illusion is induced by multisensory (audio-visual) integration. In the present study, we assume that perceptual efficiency affects the fission illusion’s rate because this illusion occurs in a short temporal range through the integration of visual and auditory information. The present study examined the effect of perceptual efficiency on the fission illusion by presenting visual patterns with various degrees of complexity. The results indicated that it was more difficult to induce the fission illusion when more complex visual patterns were used. The effect of pattern on the illusion differed according to the stimulus onset asynchrony between the first visual stimulus and the second auditory stimulus. These results suggest that the fission illusion has a higher probability of occurring when the perceptual process of the first visual stimulus is completed and integrated with the first beep before the presentation of the second beep. Thus, the audio-visual integration is affected by the perceptual efficiency of the physical stimuli.     

Effects of buffer size and shape on associations between the built environment and energy balance

Uncertainty in the relevant spatial context may drive heterogeneity in findings on the built environment and energy balance. To estimate the effect of this uncertainty, we conducted a sensitivity analysis defining intersection and business densities and counts within different buffer sizes and shapes on associations with self-reported walking and body mass index. Linear regression results indicated that the scale and shape of buffers influenced study results and may partly explain the inconsistent findings in the built environment and energy balance literature.     

Walk Score and Australian adults' home-based walking for transport

The relationships of Walk Score, a publicly-accessible walkability assessment tool, with walking for transport to and from home were examined among a large representative sample of Australian adults aged 18–64 years (N=16,944). Residents in highly and somewhat walkable areas were twice and 1.4 times more likely to accumulate 30 min of walking per day compared to those in very car-dependent neighborhoods, respectively. Mean duration of walking was also longer for participants living in highly and somewhat walkable areas compared to those in very car-dependent areas. Walk Score has potential as a widely-applicable tool for identifying the walkability of local neighborhoods.     

Using Speed of Sound Imaging to Characterize Breast Density

A population of 165 women with negative mammographic screens also received an ultrasound tomography (UST) examination at the Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit, MI. Standard statistical techniques were employed to measure the associations between the various mammographic- and UST-related density measures and various participant characteristics such as age, weight and height. The mammographic percent density (MPD) was found to have similar strength associations with UST mean sound speed (Spearman coefficient, r_s = 0.722, p < 0.001) and UST median sound speed (r_s = 0.737, p < 0.001). Both were stronger than the associations between MPD with two separate measures of UST percent density, a k-means (r_s = 0.568, p < 0.001) or a threshold (r_s = 0.715, p < 0.001) measure. Segmentation of the UST sound speed images into dense and non-dense volumes showed weak to moderate associations with the mammographically equivalent measures. Relationships were found to be inversely and weakly associated between age and the UST mean sound speed (r_s = ?0.239, p = 0.002), UST median sound speed (r_s = ?0.226, p = 0.004) and MPD (r_s = ?0.204, p = 0.008). Relationships were found to be inversely and moderately associated between body mass index (BMI) and the UST mean sound speed (r_s = ?0.429, p < 0.001), UST median sound speed (r_s = ?0.447, p < 0.001) and MPD (r_s = ?0.489, p < 0.001). The results confirm and strengthen findings presented in previous work indicating that UST sound speed imaging yields viable markers of breast density in a manner consistent with mammography, the current clinical standard. These results lay the groundwork for further studies to assess the role of sound speed imaging in risk prediction.     

Orthostatic hypotension and physical functioning in older adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BackgroundOrthostatic hypotension (OH) may negatively affect physical functioning and aggravate morbidities, but existing evidence is contradictory.MethodsMEDLINE (from 1946), PubMed (from 1966) and EMBASE databases (from 1947) were systematically searched for studies on the association of OH and physical functioning in older adults, categorized as: balance, gait characteristics, walking speed, Timed Up and Go time, handgrip strength (HGS), physical frailty, exercise tolerance, physical activity, activities of daily living (ADL), and performance on the Hoehn and Yahr scale (HY) and Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS). Study quality was assessed using the Newcastle Ottawa Scale.ResultsForty-two studies were included in the systematic review (29,421 individuals) and 29 studies in the meta-analyses (23,879 individuals). Sixteen out of 42 studies reported a significant association of OH with worse physical functioning. Meta-analysis showed a significant association of OH with impaired balance, ADL performance and HY/UPDRS III performance, but not with gait characteristics, mobility, walking speed, TUG, HGS, physical frailty, exercise tolerance, physical activity and UPDRS II performance.ConclusionsOH was associated with impaired balance, ADL performance and HY/UPDRS III performance, but not with other physical functioning categories. The results suggest that OH interventions could potentially improve some aspects of physical functioning.     

Assessing the benefits of napping and short rest breaks on processing speed in sleep‐restricted adolescents

Achievement‐oriented adolescents often study long hours under conditions of chronic sleep restriction, adversely affecting cognitive function. Here, we studied how napping and rest breaks (interleaved off‐task periods) might ameliorate the negative effects of sleep restriction on processing speed. Fifty‐seven healthy adolescents (26 female, age = 15–19 years) participated in a 15‐day live‐in protocol. All participants underwent sleep restriction (5 h time‐in‐bed), but were then randomized into two groups: one of these groups received a daily 1‐h nap opportunity. Data from seven of the study days (sleep restriction days 1–5, and recovery days 1–2) are reported here. The Blocked Symbol Decoding Test, administered once a day, was used to assess time‐on‐task effects and the effects of rest breaks on processing speed. Controlling for baseline differences, participants who took a nap demonstrated faster speed of processing and greater benefit across testing sessions from practice. These participants were also affected significantly less by time‐on‐task effects. In contrast, participants who did not receive a nap benefited more from the rest breaks that were permitted between blocks of the test. Our results indicate that napping partially reverses the detrimental effects of sleep restriction on processing speed. However, rest breaks have a greater effect as a countermeasure against poor performance when sleep pressure is higher. These data add to the growing body of evidence showing the importance of sleep for good cognitive functioning in adolescents, and suggest that more frequent rest breaks might be important in situations where sleep loss is unavoidable.