Role Of Finger Research Articles

A longitudinal study of the role of fingers in the development of early number and arithmetic skills in children with Apert syndrome.

This paper discusses a longitudinal study with children with Apert syndrome aged between 4 and 11 years. There has long been an interest in the role of fingers in the development of early number skills and arithmetic. As children with Apert syndrome are born with complex fusions of their fingers, they have to undergo several surgical procedures in order to obtain individuated fingers. This has implications for their finger mobility and finger awareness. It has been suggested that children with Apert syndrome have specific difficulties with early number and arithmetic activities. The findings from this study suggest that engaging children with Apert syndrome in activities that develop finger awareness (finger gnosis) and finger mobility (fine motor skills) may have a positive impact on their ability to engage with appropriate mathematics curricula at school. This is relevant to all those involved in the care of children with Apert syndrome and will be of particular relevance to those involved in early childhood and primary education. This study also provides new insights into the role of finger use in the development of skills and understanding in early number and arithmetic.

You can count on your fingers: The role of fingers in early mathematical development

Even though mathematics is considered one of the most abstract domains of human cognition, recent work on embodiment of mathematics has shown that we make sense of mathematical concepts by using insights and skills acquired through bodily activity. Fingers play a significant role in many of these bodily interactions. Finger-based interactions provide the preliminary access to foundational mathematical constructs, such as one-to-one correspondence and whole-part relations in early development. In addition, children across cultures use their fingers to count and do simple arithmetic. There is also some evidence for an association between children’s ability to individuate fingers (finger gnosis) and mathematics ability. Paralleling these behavioral findings, there is accumulating evidence for overlapping neural correlates and functional associations between fingers and number processing. In this paper, we synthesize mathematics education and neurocognitive research on the relevance of fingers for early mathematics development. We delve into issues such as how the early multimodal (tactile, motor, visuospatial) experiences with fingers might be the gateway for later numerical skills, how finger gnosis, finger counting habits, and numerical abilities are associated at the behavioral and neural levels, and implications for mathematics education. We argue that, taken together, the two bodies of research can better inform how different finger skills support the development of numerical competencies, and we provide a road map for future interdisciplinary research that can yield to development of diagnostic tools and interventions for preschool and primary grade classrooms.

Role of protein structure and the role of individual fingers in zinc finger protein–DNA recognition: a molecular dynamics simulation study and free energy calculations

Molecular dynamics and MM_GBSA energy calculations on various zinc finger proteins containing three and four fingers bound to their target DNA gave insights into the role of each finger in the DNA binding process as part of the protein structure. The wild type Zif 268 (PDB code: 1AAY) gave a ΔG value of - 76.1 (14)kcal/mol. Zinc fingers ZF1, ZF2 and ZF3 were mutated in one experiment and in another experiment one finger was cut and the rest of the protein was studied for binding. The ΔΔG values for the Zinc Finger protein with both ZF1 and ZF2 mutated was + 80kcal/mol, while mutating only ZF1 the ΔΔG value was + 52kcal/mol (relative to the wild type). Cutting ZF3 and studying the protein consisting only of ZF1 linked to ZF2 gave a ΔΔG value of + 68kcal/mol. Upon cutting ZF1, the resulting ZF2 linked to ZF3 protein gave a ΔΔG value of + 41kcal/mol. The above results shed light on the importance of each finger in the binding process, especially the role of ZF1 as the anchoring finger followed in importance by ZF2 and ZF3. The energy difference between the binding of the wild type protein Zif268 (1AAY) and that for individual finger binding to DNA according to the formula: ΔΔGlinkers, otherstructuralfactors = ΔGzif268 - (ΔGF1+F2+F3) gave a value = - 44.5kcal/mol. This stabilization can be attributed to the contribution of linkers and other structural factors in the intact protein in the DNA binding process. DNA binding energies of variant proteins of the wild type Zif268 which differ in their ZF1 amino acid sequence gave evidence of a good relationship between binding energy and recognition and specificity, this finding confirms the reported vital role of ZF1 in the ZF protein scanning and anchoring to the target DNA sequence. The role of hydrogen bonds in both specific and nonspecific amino acid-DNA contacts is discussed in relation to mutations. The binding energies of variant Zinc Finger proteins confirmed the role of ZF1 in the recognition, specificity and anchoring of the zinc finger protein to DNA.

Act on Numbers: Numerical Magnitude Influences Selection and Kinematics of Finger Movement.

In the past decade hand kinematics has been reliably adopted for investigating cognitive processes and disentangling debated topics. One of the most controversial issues in numerical cognition literature regards the origin – cultural vs. genetically driven – of the mental number line (MNL), oriented from left (small numbers) to right (large numbers). To date, the majority of studies have investigated this effect by means of response times, whereas studies considering more culturally unbiased measures such as kinematic parameters are rare. Here, we present a new paradigm that combines a “free response” task with the kinematic analysis of movement. Participants were seated in front of two little soccer goals placed on a table, one on the left and one on the right side. They were presented with left- or right-directed arrows and they were instructed to kick a small ball with their right index toward the goal indicated by the arrow. In a few test trials participants were presented also with a small (2) or a large (8) number, and they were allowed to choose the kicking direction. Participants performed more left responses with the small number and more right responses with the large number. The whole kicking movement was segmented in two temporal phases in order to make a hand kinematics’ fine-grained analysis. The Kick Preparation and Kick Finalization phases were selected on the basis of peak trajectory deviation from the virtual midline between the two goals. Results show an effect of both small and large numbers on action execution timing. Participants were faster to finalize the action when responding to small numbers toward the left and to large number toward the right. Here, we provide the first experimental demonstration which highlights how numerical processing affects action execution in a new and not-overlearned context. The employment of this innovative and unbiased paradigm will permit to disentangle the role of nature and culture in shaping the direction of MNL and the role of finger in the acquisition of numerical skills. Last but not least, similar paradigms will allow to determine how cognition can influence action execution.

Mathematics at Your Fingertips: Testing a Finger Training Intervention to Improve Quantitative Skills

Previous research indicates that the use of fingers as representations of ordinal and cardinal number is an important part of young children's mathematics learning. Further to this, some studies have shown that a finger training intervention can improve young children's quantitative skills. In this article, we argue that fingers represent a means for children to bridge between different external representations of number (including verbal, symbolic and non-symbolic representations). Therefore we predicted that an intervention that combined finger training with experience playing games involving multiple representations would lead to greater increases in quantitative skills than either aspect of the intervention alone. One hundred and thirty-seven children aged between six and seven years old took part in an intervention study over the course of four weeks. The study tested the impact of five different conditions on participants' quantitative skills, their finger gnosis, and their ability to compare magnitudes of two non-symbolic representations of number. Relative to a control group, those children receiving a finger training intervention saw gains in finger gnosis skills (the ability to differentiate fingers when touched, without visual cues). Those children who played number games saw an increase in their non-symbolic magnitude comparison skills. However, only those children who experienced both aspects of the intervention saw increases in quantitative skills, which were assessed using an instrument informed by Gelman and Gallistel's (1978) five principles of counting. The findings show that a finger training intervention, when combined with intensive exposure to multiple representations of number, can support young children's development of quantitative skills. This adds to evidence in the literature regarding the role of fingers in children's mathematics learning, and may have implications for pedagogical approaches.

The role of fingers in the development of counting and arithmetic skills

Interactions between fingers and numbers have been reported in the existing literature on numerical cognition. The aim of the present research was to test whether hand interference movements might have an impact on children performance in counting and basic arithmetic problem solving. In Experiment 1, 5-year-old children had to perform both a one-target and a two-target counting task in three different conditions: with no constraints, while making interfering hand movements or while making interfering foot movements. In Experiment 2, first and fourth graders were required to perform addition problems under the same control and sensori-motor interfering conditions. In both tasks, the hand movements caused more disruption than the foot movements, suggesting that finger-counting plays a functional role in the development of counting and arithmetic.

Transfer of noroviruses between fingers and fomites and food products

Human norovirus (NoV) contaminated hands are important routes for transmission. Quantitative data on transfer during contact with surfaces and food are scarce but necessary for a quantitative risk assessment. Therefore, transfer of MNV1 and human NoVs GI.4 and GII.4 was studied by artificially contaminating human finger pads, followed by pressing on stainless steel and Trespa® surfaces and also on whole tomatoes and cucumber slices. In addition, clean finger pads were pressed on artificially contaminated stainless steel and Trespa® surfaces. The transfers were performed at a pressure of 0.8–1.9kg/cm2 for approximately 2s up to 7 sequential transfers either to carriers or to food products. MNV1 infectivity transfer from finger pads to stainless steel ranged from 13±16% on the first to 0.003±0.009% on the sixth transfer on immediate transfer. After 10min of drying, transfer was reduced to 0.1±0.2% on the first transfer to 0.013±0.023% on the fifth transfer. MNV1 infectivity transfer from stainless steel and Trespa® to finger pads after 40min of drying was 2.0±2.0% and 4.0±5.0% respectively. MNV1 infectivity was transferred 7±8% to cucumber slices and 0.3±0.5% to tomatoes after 10min of drying, where the higher transfer to cucumber was probably due to the higher moisture content of the cucumber slices. Similar results were found for NoVs GI.4 and GII.4 transfers measured in PCR units. The results indicate that transfer of the virus is possible even after the virus is dried on the surface of hands or carriers. Furthermore, the role of fingers in transmission of NoVs was quantified and these data can be useful in risk assessment models and to establish target levels for efficacy of transmission intervention methods.

The role of fingers in number processing in young children.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between finger counting and numerical processing in 4–7-year-old children. Children were assessed on a variety of numerical tasks and we examined the correlations between their rates of success and their frequency of finger use in a counting task. We showed that children's performance on finger pattern comparison and identification tasks did not correlate with the frequency of finger use. However, this last variable correlated with the percentages of correct responses in an enumeration task (i.e., Give-N task), even when the age of children was entered as a covariate in the analysis. Despite this correlation, we showed that some children who never used their fingers in the counting task were able to perform optimally in the enumeration task. Overall, our results support the conclusion that finger counting is useful but not necessary to develop accurate symbolic numerical skills. Moreover, our results suggest that the use of fingers in a counting task is related to the ability of children in a dynamic enumeration task but not to static tasks involving recognition or comparison of finger patterns. Therefore, it could be that the link between fingers and numbers remain circumscribed to counting tasks and do not extent to static finger montring situations.

Rotary object dexterous manipulation in hand: a feedback-based method

We focus on manipulating the object of unknown shape, weight and friction properties in hand task. Unlike the traditional method considering the manipulation as multi times grasp planning, we propose the robust and reactive manipulation strategy. Firstly, we design the compact closed-loop control (local controller) to manipulate object in the neighbour area of its current configuration. Then, we employ global planner to manage the role of fingers (active/passive) and modify robot hand to new comfort grasp posture for new local manipulation. A physics-based simulation setup which is similar with real robot hand is used to prove our manipulation concepts – using four fingers manipulate one rotary object in hand. Only commercial available sensors feedback values are used in simulation in order to facilitate the algorithm transferring to real robot platform. Result shows the object can be manipulated in ideal and simulated artificial noise cases.

A genuine circular contact grid pattern for solar cells

AbstractA model was developed for a genuine circular contact grid, based on the same principles that led to previously reported models for other contact grid types. The circular grid differs from the regular (radial) grid often applied to round solar cells, in that it has considerably less radial lines and many more concentric rings, to the effect that the rings now take on the role of fingers, while the lines serve as busbars. For a 16 mm2 n‐on‐p GaAs cell and irradiances ranging from 1 to 1000 suns, optimised grids of this new circular design were compared to equivalent radial, square and inverted square grids. Furthermore, in order to allow for a fair comparison of the different grid types, the previously reported radial grid model was modified to obtain additional freedom in design that is comparable to that of the other grid configurations. The circular grid turned out to suffer less power loss than a comparable radial grid up to a concentration ratio of 30. At higher concentration ratios, cells with a radial grid performed better, while comparable square and inverted square grids perform better over the entire range of concentration ratios. For GaAs cells serving as the bottom cell in a mechanical tandem, the effects of secondary shadowing were calculated for a range of translational and rotational misalignments, for the four patterns optimised for the case where the GaAs cell is effectively subjected to a concentration ratio of 500. The effects of translational misalignment varied little between the grids, but the rotational misalignment effects demonstrated the strength of the circular grid, since its shadowing loss hardly increases with increasing rotational misalignment angle, while those of the other three grid types quickly approach a doubling. When these secondary shadowing effects are taken into account, the circular grid can be the preferred pattern for the constituent cells of a mechanical stack, depending on the accuracy with which those cells can be rotationally aligned. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Identification of a minimal domain of 5 S ribosomal RNA sufficient for high affinity interactions with the RNA-specific zinc fingers of transcription factor IIIA

Transcription factor IIIA of Xenopus laevis serves a dual function during oogenesis and early development: this zinc finger protein binds to the internal promoter element of the 5 S ribosomal RNA genes and acts as a positive transcription factor; additionally, the protein functions in 5 S RNA storage. The central four zinc fingers (zf4–7) of the nine-finger protein have been shown to bind 5 S rRNA with comparable or higher affinity than the full-length protein. The role of finger seven in binding affinity has been examined by deletion analysis. A zf4–6 protein binds 5 S RNA with about a sevenfold reduction in binding affinity, compared to zf4–7. The effect of non-specific competitor DNA on binding affinities of the zinc finger peptides was examined and found to have a significant effect on the measured affinities of these peptides for full-length and truncated versions of 5 S RNA. The interaction of zf4–6 with full-length 5 S RNA was far more sensitive to non-specific competitor concentration than was the zf4–7:5 S RNA interaction, suggesting that finger seven contributes to both affinity and specificity in this protein:RNA interaction. In order to map zinc finger binding sites on the 5 S RNA molecule, we generated truncated versions of the RNA and tested these molecules for their binding affinities with zf4–7 and zf4–6. Previous studies showed that a 75 nucleotide long RNA, comprising loop A, helix II, helix V, region E and helix IV, bound zf4–7 with high affinity. Selection and amplification binding assays (selex) have now been used to generate smaller high-affinity binding RNAs. We find that a 55 nucleotide long RNA, comprising loop A, helix V, region E and helix IV, but lacking helix II, retains high affinity for zf4–6. These data are consistent with the proposal that fingers 4–6 bind this central core of 5 S RNA and that finger seven binds the helix II region.

Intracarpal canal pressures: the role of finger, hand, wrist and forearm position

Objective. The study examined the change in intracarpal canal pressure (ICCP) in relationship to finger, hand, wrist and forearm position. Design. The study was an in vivo measurement of ICCP in seven subjects undergoing a standardized set of manoeuvres that systematically varied finger, hand, wrist, and forearm position. Background. It has been known that the ICCP increased with extremes of wrist flexion and extension but the change in pressure in response to radial and ulnar deviation as well as hand and forearm position has not been reported. Methods. The ICCP was measured using a slit catheter technique; each variation of position was repeated three times with continuous monitoring of ICCP, wrist angulation, and metacarpal-phalangeal joint angulation. Results. The study demonstrated that ICCPs were lowest when the wrist is in a neutral position, the hand relaxed with fingers flexed and the forearm in a semi-pronated position. Wrist extension and flexion resulted in the greatest increase in ICCP followed by forearm pronation and supination. Radial and ulnar deviation also increased the pressure but to a lesser extent. Conclusions. The findings of this study support the concept that the wrist and forearm should be maintained in a neutral position during vocational and avocational activities in an effort to minimize pressure within the carpal tunnel and thereby reduce the risk of developing carpal-tunnel syndrome.

The specific roles of finger and kringle-2 domain of t-PA during in vitro fibrinolysis

The specific roles of finger and kringle-2 domain of t-PA during in vitro fibrinolysis

The role of fingers in tool manipulation

The role of fingers in tool manipulation