General Movement Research Articles

Божественные законы и чудеса природы: естественная теология русского спиритуализма конца XIX – начала XX в.

Russian spiritualism movement of the 19th – early 20th century remains an understudied area of current scientific research. Its philosophical and theological aspects deserve more attention due to its marginal role on the epistemological borders between science and religion. The article aims to reveal the Russian spiritualists’ vision of the relationship between God and nature and for the first time overviews and analyses debates in Russian spiritualism about the problems of the philosophy of religion. The article considers spiritualists’ insight in the essence of “miracle” and “law”, interpretation of evolution as a teleological process; evaluation of different Divine Attributes and their role in theological criticism, and also spiritualists’ solution to the Problem of Evil and Suffering. The natural theology of modern spiritualism constitutes part of the general intellectual movement aimed to bring into harmony both scientific and religious worldviews in the second half of the 19th century. Works of both foreign and Russian spiritualists demonstrate that the sacralization of laws and “naturalization” of miracles were used by spiritualists to preserve the religious worldview at the time when monism and evolutionism established itself as the central ontological and main historical programmes in natural science. Still, the detailed analysis of philosophical aspects of Russian spiritualism challenges its widely-known characteristic as “synthesis” of science and religion and its simplistic characterization as being pantheistic in its nature. The article for the first time puts emphasis on the theistic current in Russian spiritualism and also highlights the key theme of its interaction with Russian philosophical thought – the survival of human personality. It encourages discussions on the role of engagement between spiritualistic movement and Russian religious philosophy at the turn of the 19th сentury.

The Russo-Turkish Wars in Russian Literature: Axiological Priorities in Historical Dynamics

The paper represents the experience of analytical description of the fictional discourse, which captures the chronicle of the long-lasting military confrontation between the Russian Empire and the Sublime Porta. The author pursues the goal to trace the logic of evaluative dynamic specific to the Russian literary tradition in the perception and reflection of the events of the Russo-Turkish wars. The material of the paper is a sufficiently voluminous corpus of literary and journalistic texts, most fully and clearly representing the wide range and variability of axiological attitudes of participants of the XVI–XIX centuries national literary process who responded to these events. Among them are such iconic names for Russian intellectual and artistic culture as M.V. Lomonosov, G.R. Derzhavin, A.F. Veltman, A.A. Bestuzhev-Marlinsky, M.P. Pogodin, N.A. Nekrasov, A.N. Pleshcheev, L.N. Tolstoy, F.M. Dostoevsky, V.M. Garshin and many others. As a result, the author concludes that the nearly four-century history of the Russo-Turkish wars provided rich material for creative initiatives of Russian writers and significantly influenced the development of the Russian literary process. Reacting swiftly to the events of numerous military conflicts, fiction produced and clearly demonstrated ideological and axiological priorities of public consciousness from the perspective of their historical dynamics. The general logic of the Russian-Turkish confrontation theme development was directly expressed at the level of poetics in artistic creations. Comparing the early literary experiences of understanding and depicting military conflicts, one can observe a general movement from the general to the particular, from the collective to the individual, from direct evaluation to complex ethical collisions. As artistic consciousness develops, depictions of large-scale battle scenes give way to literary sketches of inner experiences, psychological and existential perspectives replace the external perspective of describing events. The perception of the war is gradually, but more distinctly reveals through the prism of the personal consciousness of an author and his character and is perceived as a personally lived meaningful experience.

Supine lying center of pressure movement characteristics as a predictor of normal developmental stages in early infancy.

Absent or abnormal fidgety movements in young infants are associated with subsequent diagnoses of developmental disorders such as cerebral palsy. The General Movement Assessment (GMA) is a qualitative clinical tool to visually identify infants with absent or abnormal fidgety movements associated with developmental stage, yet no quantitative measures exist to detect fidgety activity. To determine whether a correlation exists between quantitative Center of Pressure (CoP) measurements during supine lying and age. Twenty-four healthy full-term infants participated in the Institutional Review Board-approved study. Participants were placed supine in view of a GoPro camera on an AMTI force plate for two minutes. Spontaneous movements were evaluated by three trained raters using the GMA. Traditional CoP parameters (range, total path length, mean velocity, and mean acceleration of resultant CoP) were assessed, and complexity of each of the resultant CoP variables (location, velocity, and acceleration) was calculated by sample entropy. Linear regression with Pearson correlation was performed to assess the correlations between the CoP parameters and adjusted age. Nineteen infants were deemed fidgety per the GMA and were included in further analyses. All Sample entropy measures and range of resultant CoP had significant correlations with adjusted age (p< 0.05). Sample entropy of resultant CoP decreased with increasing age while range of resultant CoP increased with increasing age. The results suggest that complexity of CoP and range of CoP are good predictors of age in typical developing infants during the fidgety period. Therefore, an approach using these parameters should be explored further as a quantifiable tool to identify infants at risk for neurodevelopmental impairment.

Temporal and spatial variability of the fidgety movement descriptors and their relation to head position in automized general movement assessment

In clinical practice, motor development in infants is assessed subjectively. Many researchers propose objective methods, which have numerous limitations, by attaching markers or sensors to the child's limbs. The purpose of this study is to attempt to develop objectified numerical indices to describe the limb movements of infants without interfering with spontaneous activity. 20-minute video recordings of three infants' movements who were purposively selected from 51 subjects were included in the study. The procedure of automatic calculation of head position time in 3 positions was applied. Movement features were determined to allow for the delineation of coefficients describing the movement in numerical values. Presented parameters describe three infant's movement aspects: quality (strength), distribution of postural tonus and asymmetry in relation to head position, described as four independent values. Estimated parameters variability over time was weighted up according to expert observations. The presented method is a direct reflection of infants' observation, currently performed by highly educated and experienced therapists. The interpretability and usefulness of the presented parameters were proved. All parameters estimation is fully automated. The conducted research is a prelude to future work related to creating an objective and repeatable tool, initially monitoring and ultimately supporting early diagnosis for differentiating normal and abnormal motor development.

Early Spontaneous Movements of Infants With Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy.

The aim of this study was to determine motor repertoire at 3 to 5 months of age in infants with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) and to examine changes according to HIE severity. Participants were 38 infants aged 3 to 5 months with HIE and 38 infants in the comparison group. The general movement assessment and the Motor Optimality Score (MOS) were used. Infants in the HIE group had a significantly lower total MOS and scores for fidgety movements, age adequacy of motor repertoire, and quality of movement patterns compared with the comparison group. Infants with grade III HIE compared with grade I had a significantly lower MOS. Infants with HIE had poorer motor repertoire at age 3 to 5 months when compared with peers. Motor repertoire deteriorated as HIE severity increased. Detecting potential developmental delays as early as possible allows for early intervention and rehabilitation in this population.

Теорія історії людства Семена Десницького (до джерел наукової методології пізнання історичного процесу)

Introduction. Famous Ukrainian and Russian scientist of the XVIII century. Semen Desnytskyi is characterized in the scientific literature as a jurist and economist. In the context of his legal, political and economic views, the theory of the historical process developed by him is also considered. There is a need for a special study of this theory, which is known as the theory of states of the human race. Purpose&nbsp;of&nbsp;the&nbsp;articles – a detailed coverage of the theory of human history by Semen Desnytskyi. Results. Desnytskyi believed that all phenomena of nature and society are constantly evolving. Therefore, peoples and countries cannot be safe from troubles and lack of prospects for their existence. Desnytskyi defined the type of economic activity as a criterion for the success of peoples. He singled out four states of social organization of mankind: the initial, when people live by hunting and gathering, the next state, which exists through livestock breeding, the third - farming, and the fourth state, the scientist called commercial, characterized by developed trade, handicrafts, manufacturing. In the movement from one state to the next is the meaning and well-being of mankind. These states of development with the appropriate type of economic activity determine their rule, laws and traditions, determine the level of achievement in science and art. The transition from state to state, the general movement of human history, the scientist explained the need to satisfy his «desire» – the process of relentless formation of human needs. The latter are generated by the fear of the danger of deteriorating living conditions or even the absence of their progress. Semen&nbsp;Desnytskyi’s theory is obviously related to Adam Smith’s scientific experiments, which explain the origin of various social strata and cultural and everyday features of people from their property and economic status. Originality.&nbsp;The article deals with the theory of human history by Semen Desnytskyi. Conclusion.&nbsp;Desnytskyi’s theory of the states of the human race is based on the intellectual achievements of the XVIII century, primarily the achievements of Adam&nbsp;Smith. The essence of this theory is to recognize the economy and property rights as the main criterion for the progress of mankind and the conditionality of all spheres of social life by shifts in economic progress. Semen&nbsp;Desnytskyi’s theory is one of the first scientific doctrines about the history of mankind. Long before French romantic historiography, Marxism, the theory of economic cycles and the positivist theories of industrial and post-industrial society, the theory of worlds-economies, the scientist came to the conclusion that the economic factor played a decisive role in history.

Movements and posture in infants born extremely preterm in comparison to term-born controls

BackgroundIdentifying altered motor development at an early stage is crucial for infants born extremely preterm (EPT), as they face a high risk of long-term neurodevelopmental impairment. The Prechtl General Movement Assessment (GMA), including the Motor Optimality Score Revised (MOS-R), can provide important insights into these infants' later neurodevelopmental function. AimsTo compare age-specific movements and postures in infants born EPT compared to term-born controls at three months corrected age. Study designA retrospective observational study design. Subjects53 infants born EPT (mean gestational age 25 weeks; 23–26) were included and matched for gender and recording age with 53 term-born controls (mean gestational age 40 weeks, 37–41). Outcome measuresGMA including the MOS-R at three months corrected age (re-analysis of video-recordings). ResultsOf the infants born EPT, 19% showed aberrant fidgety movements (FMs); all term-born infants had normal FMs. There was a significant difference in MOS-R (p≤0.001) between controls (median = 26, IQR 26–28) and EPT infants (median = 18, IQR 17–21), as well as in all subcategories of the MOS-R. The EPT group had a significantly higher number of infants showing atypical movement and postural patterns as well as a reduced repertoire for the age compared to the controls. All infants born EPT moved monotonously and jerky. P-values were all <0.001. ConclusionInfants born EPT have an altered early motor development. The MOS-R may contribute to further understanding of motor performance in this group of children since it can detect neurological- and motor alterations at a very early age.

Disease course and treatment patterns in progressive supranuclear palsy: A real-world study

BackgroundProgressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is a neurodegenerative disorder with symptoms including vertical gaze palsy, frequent falls, abnormal gait, and cognitive/language/behavioral changes, making diagnosis and treatment challenging. MethodsDescriptive analysis was undertaken of cross-sectional, real-world data for patients with PSP provided by neurologists in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, UK, and USA. ResultsData on 892 PSP patients were obtained from patient records. Common initial symptoms included difficulty walking/maintaining gait, confusion/disorientation, loss of balance/falling, and rigidity. These symptoms and vertical gaze palsy commonly aided diagnosis. At data collection, dysphagia and blepharospasm were also very common. Mean times from symptom-onset to consulting a healthcare professional and PSP diagnosis were 5.2 and 15.0 months, respectively. General practitioners or movement disorder specialists were most commonly consulted initially; 98% of patients were diagnosed with PSP by a movement disorder specialist or general neurologist. Alternative diagnoses, including Parkinson's disease (67%) and dementia (10%), were considered for 41% of patients prior to PSP diagnosis. Non-wheelchair walking aids and wheelchairs were used by 60% and 23% of patients, respectively, with mean times from symptom-onset to use being 20.8 and 39.5 months, respectively. Symptomatic medication, most often levodopa and antidepressants, was prescribed for 87% of patients. ConclusionThis study provided information on disease course and treatment for a large number of PSP patients from various countries. PSP carries a considerable clinical burden. Diagnosis is often delayed. Consulting a movement disorder specialist might expediate diagnosis. Currently, only symptomatic treatments are available with a poor satisfaction, and there is an urgent need for disease-modifying agents.

Early Motor Repertoire in Infants With Biliary Atresia: A Nationwide Prospective Cohort Study.

The aim of the study was to assess the neurological status in infants with biliary atresia (BA) at time of diagnosis, using Prechtl's validated General Movement Assessment. Infants diagnosed with BA were prospectively included in a nationwide cohort study. From birth to approximately 46 weeks of postmenstrual age (PMA), general movements (GMs) are defined as "writhing movements." At 46 to 49 weeks PMA, "'fidgety movements" emerge. The infant's early motor repertoire was recorded on video before Kasai portoenterostomy. We scored GM optimality scores (min-max 5-42) or motor optimality scores (MOS, min-max 5-28) as appropriate. We defined GM optimality scores <36 and MOS <26 as atypical, and compared the results with 2 reference groups of healthy peers. We assessed GMs in 35 infants with BA (11/35 boys, gestational age 40 weeks [36-42], birth weight 3370 g [2015-4285]). At time of diagnosis (PMA 47 weeks [42-60]), 16 infants (46%) showed atypical GMs. The proportion of infants with atypical GMs was significantly higher in BA (46%) than in 2 reference groups of healthy infants (vs 10%, P < 0.001; vs 18%, P < 0.001). Total and direct bilirubin levels were 165 μmol/L (87-364) and 134 μmol/L (72-334), respectively, height z score was 0.05 (-2.90, 1.75), weight z score -0.52 ([-2.50, -0.20) and mean upper arm circumference z score -1.80 (-2.50, -0.20). We found no statistically significant relation between atypical GMs and clinical variables. Almost half of the infants with BA showed atypical GMs at time of diagnosis, suggesting neurological impairment. Close monitoring of these infants is warranted to determine their individual neurodevelopmental trajectories.

Return to Sepharad. Is it possible to heal an ancient wound?

The spanish government has issued a new law offering spanish nationality to sephardic jews around the world fulfilling some characteristics. This legal movement tries to undo the decree of expulsion of spanish jews in 1492. It has been received with a surprising lack of any significant debate (for or against the law) in Spain. The presentation explores this topic, addressing the emotional reactions towards this in spanish population using materials form a focus group qualitative study and also touches upon the identity problems exposed by the new law and the mechanisms of denial, guilt, reparation, displacement, reactive formation, etc. accompanying the whole process. Events in the distant past, often of a traumatic quality may contribute intensely to the construction of national identity. The healing of old wounds, if possible, might shake our large group structure and lead us to confront a complex reality and to a creative process of new identity formation. A deeper exploration of this situation might also help us to understand better the complex identity problems in many large groups around the world today, linked sometimes to group violence and war and to a general movement towards nationalist and isolationist political choices.

Tracking and Nudging through Smartphone Apps: Public Health and Decisional Privacy in a European Health Union

In response to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, European Union (EU) Member States adopted technological solutions aimed at mitigating the effects of the virus, as well as enforcing newly adopted public health measures. Examples include apps for disseminating information, performing self-diagnosis, enforcing home quarantine orders and aiding contact tracing. This extensive use of technology for tracking and promoting public health raises important questions regarding EU citizens’ privacy. Thus far, the discourse in this regard has predominantly revolved around data protection, the risk of surveillance and the right to control access over one’s personal information (informational privacy). In light of the push towards a more unified approach to mitigating the current pandemic and future health crises through a European Health Union (EHU), we consider a different dimension of privacy that may be at risk when employing technology for public health, namely the right to non-interference with one’s decisions (decisional privacy). In particular, this article focuses on whether the advances in health-related persuasive technology, together with a more general movement towards “nudging” as an individual and public health tool, will require EU legislation to further protect decisional privacy by regulating “hypernudging” technologies and to guide the EHU in coordinating public health measures that utilise these technologies in a privacy-preserving way.

Clinical tools used in young infants born very preterm to predict motor and cognitive delay (not cerebral palsy): a systematic review.

This systematic review evaluates the accuracy of clinical tools used at a corrected age of 6months or younger to predict motor and cognitive delay (not cerebral palsy) at 24months' corrected age, in infants born very preterm. Six databases were searched. Quality was evaluated using the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies tool. Predictive analysis included calculation of sensitivity and specificity, inspection of summary receiver operating characteristics curves, and bivariate meta-analysis. Six assessments were identified in 10 studies of 992 infants. Overall prevalence of motor delay was 13.8% and cognitive delay was 11.7%. Methodological quality was variable for patient selection, reference standard, flow, and timing. All studies had a low risk of bias for the index test. General Movement Assessment (GMA) predicted motor and cognitive outcomes with good accuracy for mild, moderate, and severe delays (fidgety age: pooled diagnostic odds ratio=12.3 [5.9-29.8]; hierarchical summary receiver operating characteristics curve=0.733). The Hammersmith Infant Neurological Examination (HINE) demonstrated excellent predictive accuracy for severe motor delay (3mo and 6mo; sensitivity 93% [68-100%], specificity 100% [96-100%]) but showed limited ability to predict milder delays. In the population of infants born very preterm, few assessment tools used at 6 months or younger corrected age have proven predictive accuracy for cognitive and motor delay at 24 months' corrected age. Only the GMA and HINE demonstrated useful predictive validity. General movements have predictive validity for both motor and cognitive dysfunction in infants born very preterm. The Hammersmith Infant Neurological Examination showed the highest predictive accuracy for severe motor delay. The General Movement Assessment was the best tool to predict mild-to-moderate motor and cognitive delays.

Three-Dimensional Pose Estimation of Infants Lying Supine Using Data From a Kinect Sensor With Low Training Cost

Early diagnosis of cerebral palsy in infants has produced promising results using tools like the General Movement Assessment (GMA). Pose estimation of infants lying supine is an important step towards an automated system for GMA. Developing methods for accurate, reliable, fast estimation of the three-dimensional (3D) position of human limbs and proposing motion features suitable for 3D models to classify typical and atypical movements are attracting increasing research interest lately. In this study, we propose a 3D pose estimation method with low training cost suitable for infants in lying positions. The method uses an existing two-dimensional human body keypoint detection method combined with the in-depth information in Red-Green-Blue Depth (RGB-D) data from a Kinect sensor. The method is evaluated using the Moving INfants In RGB-D (MINI-RGBD) open dataset. The results show that the average error of the estimated body part length is 13.76 mm, while the accuracy of the Percentage of Correctly-localized Parts (PCP) and Percentage of Correct Keypoint (PCK) is 80.7 and 86.1%, respectively. The results are comparable to those achieved in the baseline study performed by the researchers who generated this open dataset. The advantage of our method is its low training cost.

General Movements and Developmental Functioning in an Individual with Rhizomelic Chondrodysplasia Punctata within the First Months of the Life: A Case Report

Aims Rhizomelic chondrodysplasia punctata (RCDP) is an autosomal recessive inherited disorder. Individuals with RCDP have a wide range of neurodevelopmental outcomes, but there are limited descriptions of their early motor development before 5 months of age. This study aimed to describe in detail the age-specific spontaneous movements and examine the developmental functioning in an individual with RCDP. Methods A female infant (born at 39 weeks’ gestation), diagnosed with RCDP at 3 weeks of age, was assessed at 4 and 16 weeks for general movements (GMs) and concurrent motor repertoire; the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development–Third Edition (Bayley-III) was also applied at the same ages. Results At 4 weeks, the infant showed poor repertoire GMs, with a detailed General Movement Optimality Score of 16/42. At 16 weeks, age-specific fidgety movements were absent, and the movement character was monotonous and stiff; the detailed Motor Optimality Score was severely reduced (7/28). All Bayley-III scores were <2 SD, that is <70 indicating severe developmental delay. Conclusion Functional assessments such as the GM assessment and age-specific detailed assessment could be complementary to neuroimaging assessments to predict the neurodevelopmental outcomes in infants with RCDP.

The effect of special exercises on improving general motor impairment to perform forward anterior heart rate skill on the mat of ground movements for ages (10-13)

The scientific progress made in sport in the world did not come as a result of chance but rather by relying on training and educational means based on sound scientific foundations in the individual and individual games, as gymnastics is one of the sports that contain several movements and at the same time these movements may be performed in One movement of the gymnastics. The player who plays this game must be characterized by good physical and skill specifications, as any defect in it affects the player's skill performance and thus his achievement is not good and this affects progress towards achieving what he aims. And that the general motor balance is an important pillar in the performance of any movement of the gymnast and that the player who is characterized by the stability of the balance will be easier to learn unlike the one who has a weakness in the general balance is learning more difficult and therefore can not achieve what he aims to accomplish, especially if he did not discover Early. Hence the importance of the research to improve the weakness of the general motor balance when performing the skill of the forward anterior heart, by developing exercises that improve the performance weakness. Hence, the researcher sought to solve the problem. The weak general movement balance among the players of the technical gymnastics resulted from the lack of interest Adequate motor balance in performance or physical numbers, which plays an important and effective role in improving performance significantly, and because balance is an important skill trait in the game of gymnastics and that its weakness may not only affect learning the skill of the frontal air ball developed, but rather achievement in general, The prompting the researchers to study the problem and develop special exercises to help improve weak balance when motor performance and find the best solutions to scientific even have to be a good player.&#x0D; The third chapter includes the research sample community and sample for the sub-union players of your gymnasium in Maysan for junior athletes, ages (10-13) years, they are (6) young players.&#x0D; As for the fourth chapter, the results are presented, analyzed and discussed. As for the fifth chapter, it includes conclusions and recommendations, including the conclusions:&#x0D; &#x0D; The effect of the exercises was positive in developing physical and motor abilities.&#x0D; &#x0D; The development of physical and motor abilities through exercises led to the learning of free skills in technical gymnastics as well as balance.&#x0D; As for the recommendations&#x0D; &#x0D; Trying to improve the performance of the basic skills in your technical gymnastics while giving other motor skills for the older age group for the purpose of learning them and benefiting from them in performing compulsory motor formations.&#x0D;

The general movement checklist: A guide to the assessment of general movements during preterm and term age

ObjectivesTo develop a checklist describing features of normal and abnormal general movements in order to guide General Movement Assessment novices through the assessment procedure, to provide a quantification of General Movement Assessment; and to demonstrate that normal and abnormal GMs can be distinguished on the basis of a metric checklist score. MethodsThree examiners used General Movement Assessment and the newly developed GM checklist to assess 20 videos of 16 infants (seven males) recorded at 31–45 weeks postmenstrual age (writhing general movements). Inter- and intra-scorer agreement was determined for General Movement Assessment (nominal data; Kappa values) and the checklist score (metric scale ranging from 0 to 26; Intraclass Correlation values). The scorers’ satisfaction with the usefulness of the checklist was assessed by means of a short questionnaire (score 10 for maximum satisfaction). ResultsThe scorers’ satisfaction ranged from 8.44 to 9.14, which indicates high satisfaction. The median checklist score of the nine videos showing normal general movements was significantly higher than that of the eleven videos showing abnormal general movements (26 vs. 11, p<0.001). The checklist score also differentiated between poor-repertoire (median=13) and cramped-synchronized general movements (median=7; p=0.002). Inter- and intra-scorer agreement on (i) normal vs. abnormal general movements was good to excellent (Kappa=0.68–1.00); (ii) the distinction between the four general movement categories was considerable to excellent (Kappa=0.56–0.93); (iii) the checklist was good to excellent (ICC=0.77–0.96). ConclusionThe general movement checklist proved an important tool for the evaluation of normal and abnormal general movements; its score may potentially document individual trajectories and the effect of therapeutic intervention.

Enhancing early detection of neurological and developmental disorders and provision of intervention in low-resource settings in Uttar Pradesh, India: study protocol of the G.A.N.E.S.H. programme

IntroductionAround 9% of India’s children under six are diagnosed with neurodevelopmental disorders. Low-resource, rural communities often lack programmes for early identification and intervention. The Prechtl General Movement Assessment (GMA) is...

Writhing Movement Detection in Newborns on the Second and Third Day of Life Using Pose-Based Feature Machine Learning Classification

Observation of neuromotor development at an early stage of an infant’s life allows for early diagnosis of deficits and the beginning of the therapeutic process. General movement assessment is a method of spontaneous movement observation, which is the foundation for contemporary attempts at objectification and computer-aided diagnosis based on video recordings’ analysis. The present study attempts to automatically detect writhing movements, one of the normal general movement categories presented by newborns in the first weeks of life. A set of 31 recordings of newborns on the second and third day of life was divided by five experts into videos containing writhing movements (with occurrence time) and poor repertoire, characterized by a lower quality of movement in relation to the norm. Novel, objective pose-based features describing the scope, nature, and location of each limb’s movement are proposed. Three machine learning algorithms are evaluated in writhing movements’ detection in leave-one-out cross-validation for different feature extraction time windows and overlapping time. The experimental results make it possible to indicate the optimal parameters for which 80% accuracy was achieved. Based on automatically detected writhing movement percent in the video, infant movements are classified as writhing movements or poor repertoire with an area under the ROC (receiver operating characteristics) curve of 0.83.

Relationships between accelerometry and general compensatory movements of the upper limb after stroke

BackgroundStandardized assessments are used in rehabilitation clinics after stroke to measure restoration versus compensatory movements of the upper limb. Accelerometry is an emerging tool that can bridge the gap between in- and out-of-clinic assessments of the upper limb, but is limited in that it currently does not capture the quality of a person’s movement, an important concept to assess compensation versus restoration. The purpose of this analysis was to characterize how accelerometer variables may reflect upper limb compensatory movement patterns after stroke.MethodsThis study was a secondary analysis of an existing data set from a Phase II, single-blind, randomized, parallel dose–response trial (NCT0114369). Sources of data utilized were: (1) a compensatory movement score derived from video analysis of the Action Research Arm Test (ARAT), and (2) calculated accelerometer variables quantifying time, magnitude and variability of upper limb movement from the same time point during study participation for both in-clinic and out-of-clinic recording periods.ResultsParticipants had chronic upper limb paresis of mild to moderate severity. Compensatory movement scores varied across the sample, with a mean of 73.7 ± 33.6 and range from 11.5 to 188. Moderate correlations were observed between the compensatory movement score and each accelerometer variable. Accelerometer variables measured out-of-clinic had stronger relationships with compensatory movements, compared with accelerometer variables in-clinic. Variables quantifying time, magnitude, and variability of upper limb movement out-of-clinic had relationships to the compensatory movement score.ConclusionsAccelerometry is a tool that, while measuring movement quantity, can also reflect the use of general compensatory movement patterns of the upper limb in persons with chronic stroke. Individuals who move their limbs more in daily life with respect to time and variability tend to move with less movement compensations and more typical movement patterns. Likewise, individuals who move their paretic limbs less and their non-paretic limb more in daily life tend to move with more movement compensations at all joints in the paretic limb and less typical movement patterns.

Examples of Anglican Ritualism in Victorian South Africa: Towards an Understanding of Local Developments and Practice

AbstractThis article examines South Africa’s contribution to the spread of Anglican ritualism in the mid-nineteenth century and seeks to add a South African voice to the growing contemporary scholarship in this area. It begins by examining the role of South Africa’s first Anglican bishop in fostering a climate conducive to ritualism. This is followed by an examination of some of the early developments which were considered ‘popish’ by colonist congregations. The second part of the study focuses on two examples of advanced ritualist parishes paying attention to ‘signs’ of medievalist revivals and the confident manner in which ritualism was discussed. The author finds that after an initial period of fairly robust antagonism towards ritualism by colonists, a general movement towards ritualist practices began to emerge. The sources consulted for this article include letters, newspaper and periodical articles, archival material and a couple of unpublished theses.