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Introduction: Identifying talent is the first step in a process that leads to an educational response for students with talent and high ability. Can talent be identified from an early age? Does talent remain naturally throughout the different stages of schooling, or, on the contrary, does it require orientation in order to be developed? The study of identifying talent is one of the topics most under investigation and is a field where new, interesting and easy-to-apply instruments are being made available. This paper presents a study carried out with a broad sample in order to identify musical talent from ECE until 6th grade of primary education. Method: This study focuses on identifying one type of talent: musical talent. The method used in this study consists of music teachers' applying a questionnaire to students from ECE and Primary Education. The questionnaire was selected and adapted from that of Multiple Intelligences (Gardner, 1998). Responses to the questionnaire were recorded, then the results were analyzed and interpreted and conclusions were drawn. Results: Data obtained reveal that in ECE a percentage of students show musical talent, but that this percentage decreases over the passage of time, such that by 6th grade of Primary, we observe only a few students out of our broad sample that show musical talent. Discussion: We conclude that: i) Already in ECE it is possible to identify musical talent, as various authors assert. ii) Beginning in Primary, one observes a decrease in students with musical talent. iii) In order for talent to be developed and to remain in successive school years, orientation and development are required.

El modelo de recuperación de información tradicional o algorítmico ha ido evolucionando hasta dar lugar al modelo cognitivo. A partir de éste último han surgido distintas propuestas de implementación práctica siendo las más destacables las denominadas por sus autores Modelo Global de Polirepresentación, Modelo Episódico, Modelo Estratificado y Modelo de Retroalimentación Interactiva, las cuales en este trabajo se consideran sistemas y se describen y analizan desde un punto de vista crítico.

Introduction: Corneal Abrasion (CA) is the most common ophthalmic complication that occurs after General Anaesthesia (GA) in non ocular surgeries. GA results in reduced basal tear volume, loss of light reflex, and lack of pain perception, resulting in corneal drying. This makes the cornea susceptible to abrasion and keratitis. Research suggests that preventing corneal mechanical exposure and providing artificial tears can help mitigate these risks. Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of eye taping with and without Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose (HPMC) drops in preventing perioperative CA. Materials and Methods: This prospective comparative interventional study was conducted in the Department of Anaesthesia, Justice Hegde KS Charitable Hospital in Mangaluru, India, from June 2021 to November 2021. A total of 122 patients who underwent GA for non ocular surgeries lasting more than 45 minutes were grouped into group T or group D, depending on whether their eyes were only taped during GA (T) using hypoallergenic adhesive tape or had HPMC drops instilled in their eyes along with tape (D). Participants were evaluated 2 and 12 hours after the end of GA in the postanaesthesia care unit using a questionnaire to assess eye symptoms. Conjunctival hyperaemia and chemosis were evaluated using scoring systems. Other parameters noted included age, gender distribution, type, and duration of surgery. Statistical analysis using the chi-square test/likelihood ratio was performed to assess the association between the eye protection method used and postsurgical outcomes. Results: Out of the 122 patients who received either of the two eye protection methods under GA, 68 (55.7%) were females and 54 (44.3%) were males. A total of 85 (69.6%) were between the ages of 20-60 years, while 29 (23.8%) were above the age of 60 years. There was no statistically significant association found between the age or gender of the patients and the eye protection method used. No statistically significant difference was noted between the duration, type of surgeries, and the eye protection method used in this study. There was no statistical significance (p-value>0.05) noted with respect to the conjunctival hyperaemia and chemosis scoring in the two groups. However, 15 (24.6%) patients in group D were found to have adhesive lids two hours postsurgery. There was an association (p-value

Helianthus tuberosus is a high biomass crop recently proposed as a candidate for use in phytotechnologies on metal polluted soils. The present work reports data concerning plant growth, metal(loid) uptake and the metal(loid)-nutrient interactions of two cultivar-clones of H. tuberosus (VR and D19). Three hydroponic experiments were performed separately: T1: 30 mg · L−1 of As(V), Cd, Cr(VI), and Ni; T2: 30 mg · L−1 of Cu, Zn, Pb, and Cd; T3: 30 mg · L−1 of As(V), Cd, and Ni. Theoretical estimation of the metal(loid) speciation in the nutrient solution was evaluated by MINTEQA2. The aerial biomass of both cultivar-clones was not significantly reduced with T2 and T3 in comparison to the controls. T1 was the most toxic treatment for H. tuberosus, due to the presence of Cr(VI) in the mixture. D19 accumulated higher concentrations of metal in tissues than VR, and showed an effective mobilization of Pb to the stems. Although both cultivar-clones showed high capacity to grow in presence of multiple toxic metal(loid)s, D19 showed better characteristics than VR to become a potential candidate for use in phytotechnologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluation of segregating populations from crosses between cultivated tomato S. lycopersicum L. cv. maravilla and PI134418 wild accession of Solanum habrochaites var. glabratum with resistance to the fruit borer N. elegantalis was made. There was dominance of alleles that decrease theexpression of the character mean fruit weight. The backcrossing method was more efficient than selfing in order to counteract the dominance of alleles that encode by small fruit size. The thrichomes and the mean number of fruit per bunch did not produce any effect on the fruit attack by the fruit borer; while that mean fruit weight had important effect on this attack, therefore, the insect tends to produce more damage with the increasing in the mean fruit weight. The RC1 and RC2 populations showed segregating typical behavior for evaluated characters, presenting high variability in all of them. The backcrossing method was effective to break the negative association between mean fruit weight and the resistance to the insect. The mean fruit weight in the RC2 recombinant was between 45.1 and 68.6 g and showed resistance to the fruit borer.Se realizó la evaluación de poblaciones segregantes producidas a partir de cruzamientos entre tomate S. lycopersicum L. cv. maravilla y la accesión silvestre PI134418 de S. habrochaites var. glabratum resistente al pasador del fruto N. elegantalis. Se encontró que hay dominancia de los alelos que disminuyen la expresión del carácter peso promedio de fruto. El método del retrocruzamiento resultó más eficiente que el de la autofecundación, para contrarrestar la dominancia de los alelos que codifican por el tamaño pequeño del fruto. Los tricomas y el número promedio de frutos por racimo no ejercieron ningún efecto sobre el ataque de los frutos por parte del pasador; mientras que el peso promedio de fruto sí tuvo efecto importante sobre dicho ataque, de tal manera que el insecto tiende a producir mayor daño a medida que se incrementa el peso promedio de fruto. Las poblaciones RC1 y RC2 se comportaron como las típicas segregantes para los caracteres evaluados y exhibieron amplia variabilidad en los mismos. El método del retrocruzamiento fue efectivo para romper la asociación negativa entre el peso promedio de fruto y la resistencia al insecto. El peso promedio de algunos de los frutos en los recombinantes RC2 fluctuó entre 45.1 y 68.6 g y mostraron resistencia al pasador.

Se estudió la latencia y germinación de semillas de guanábana y chirimoya con el fin de categorizar la latencia de las simientes y desarrollar un protocolo de rompimiento de ésta; conocimiento básico para el establecimiento y monitoreo de un duplicado de seguridad en las colecciones de campo, por la vía de almacenamiento a largo plazo de las unidades de propagación sexuales. No se detectó latencia exógena, a través de la imbibición obtenida por las semillas. Se encontró, a través de pruebas de viabilidad, con tetrazolio, que en cada uno de los taxa existe alrededor de un 20% de unidades no viables en el conjunto de semillas aparentemente normales. La estratificación caliente húmeda, por espacio de 90 días, produjo rompimiento de la latencia, al igual que la imbibición con AG3, con obtención del mejor resultado al imbibir la simiente en 800 ppm de la hormona. En chirimoya se obtuvo efectos sinérgicos al combinar el tratamiento de 800 ppm de AG3 y estratificación caliente húmeda durante 90 días, lo cual no fue evidente en el caso de la guanábana. A partir de los resultados se clasificó el bloqueo de la germinación de las semillas de las dos especies, como latencia morfofisiológica simple, no profunda. La caracterización definida, junto con el protocolo de remoción, apoyan el establecimiento de un duplicado de seguridad de la colección de campo, por la vía de semilla, con un concepto dinámico que se esboza en este escrito.

Interspecifics crosses between tomato plants L. esculentum and thirteen wild accessions of Lycopersicon spp. with resistance to the fruit borer were carried out. Six Hybrids population were produced which had low percentages of crossing efficiency and seed germination, and high amount of abnormal seeds. Seeds of four RC1 populations and four RC2 populations were obtained, which presented low percentages of backcrossing efficiency. Equally seeds of three F2 populations and two F3 population were produced which were obtained from a low number of fruits in comparison with the high amount of isolated Inflorescences. Key words: Interspecifics crosses, backcrossing, Lycopersicon esculentum, Neoleucinodes elegantalis, resistance.Se hicieron cruzamientos interespecíficos entre plantas de tomate L. esculentum y trece accesiones silvestres de Lycopersicon spp. resistentes al pasador del fruto. Se produjeron seis poblaciones híbridas que presentaron porcentajes bajos de eficiencia en el cruzamiento y de germinación de semilla y alta cantidad de semillas anormales. Se obtuvieron semillas de cuatro poblaciones RC1 y cuatro poblaciones RC2, las cuales presentaron porcentajes bajos de eficiencia de retrocruzamiento. Igualmente se produjeron semillas de tres poblaciones F2 y dos poblaciones F3 las cuales se obtuvieron de un número bajo de frutos en comparación con la alta cantidad de inflorescencias aisladas. Palabras claves: Cruzamientos interespecíficos, retrocruzamiento, Lycopersicon esculentum, Neoleucinodes elegantalis, resistencia.

Humic acids (HA) extracted from sheep (SHHA), cow (COHA), goat (GOHA) and rabbit (RAHA) vermicomposted manure were analyzed by electron paramagnetic resonance and hydrogen nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopies. Carboxylic acids, amine, amide, ester, ether and phenol functions bonded to saturated aliphatic, unsaturated aliphatic conjugated double and single bonds, and aromatic chains constitute the backbone structure of these fresh humic substances (HS). Mn2+ outer sphere complexes (SHHA, COHA), Fe3+ axial (COHA, RAHA) or rhombic (SHAHA, COHA, GOHA, RAHA) complexes and Cu2+ as weak field (COHA, GOHA, RAHA) and strong field (SHAHA, COHA, GOHA, RAHA) complexes were characterized.

Humic acids (HA) were extracted from sheep (SH), cow (CO), goat (GO) and rabbit (RA) manures which were vermicomposted with the earthworm Eisenia foetida. HA DSC curves showed well-defined thermal events indicative of intramolecular bonds (300 ºC) and intermolecular organo-mineral linkages (500 ºC). All samples showed high nitrogen contents (from peptide chains and probably N-heterocycles) and aromatic and/or unsaturated aliphatic conjugated structures, as well as a low carboxylic functionality content. The SH-HA was the most similar to a medium soil HA and the RA-HA being the least similar. The results show that it is possible to prepare distinct worm-composts to solve specific problems of degraded soils.

Abstract Background Some adult stem cells persist in adult tissue; however, we do not know how to stimulate stem cells in adults to heal injuries. Liver growth factor (LGF) is a biliprotein with hepatic mitogen activity. Its concentration increases markedly in the presence of any type of liver injury, and it shows in vivo therapeutic biological activity at extrahepatic sites. Methods We have analyzed the effect of LGF on the replenishment of germinal cells in the testes of mice injected with busulfan, a common cancer drug that also specifically affects germ line stem cells and spermatogonia. We determined the testicular and epididymal weight, spermatozoal concentration in the epididymis and sperm motility, and performed a histological analysis. Results Intraperitoneal administration of LGF was able to partially restore spermatogenesis, as well as sperm production and motility, in mice sterilized with busulfan. LGF treatment in busulfan-treated animals that have suffered a disruption of spermatogenesis can accelerate the reactivation of this process in most of the tubules, as shown in the histological analysis. Conclusions Our results suggest a potential use of LGF in the mobilization of testicular stem cells and in the restoration of spermatogenesis after busulfan-induced damage to the testicular germinal epithelium.

Abstract Background The human pregnane X receptor (hPXR) is an orphan nuclear receptor that induces transcription of response elements present in steroid-inducible cytochrome P-450 gene promoters. This activation requires the participation of retinoid X receptors (RXRs), needed partners of hPXR to form heterodimers. We have investigated the expression of hPXR and RXRs in normal, premalignant, and malignant breast tissues, in order to determine whether their expression profile in localized infiltrative breast cancer is associated with an increased risk of recurrent disease. Methods Breast samples from 99 patients including benign breast diseases, in situ and infiltrative carcinomas were processed for immunohistochemistry and Western-blot analysis. Results Cancer cells from patients that developed recurrent disease showed a high cytoplasmic location of both hPXR isoforms. Only the infiltrative carcinomas that relapsed before 48 months showed nuclear location of hPXR isoform 2. This location was associated with the nuclear immunoexpression of RXR-alpha. Conclusion Breast cancer cells can express both variants 1 and 2 of hPXR. Infiltrative carcinomas that recurred showed a nuclear location of both hPXR and RXR-alpha; therefore, the overexpression and the subcellular location changes of hPXR could be considered as a potential new prognostic indicator.

Brachypodium distachyon is the first pooid grass to be sequenced, and has been recently proposed as model grass to development of energy crops. The present work reports data concerning the ability of B. distachyon seeds to germinate and grow in vitro with Cd (0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.3 mM), As (0, 0.07, 0.1, 0.4 mM), Zn (0, 0.3, 1, 1.5 mM), or Cr (0, 0.7, 1.5, 2 mM), in comparison with two metal-tolerant energy crops (Brassica napus and Helianthus annuus). In vitro tests provided, within a short time, useful information about metal tolerance in plants. High concentrations of Cd, Zn and As(V) did not affect the seed germination of the studied species. The maximum toxicity level was found in plants treated with Cr(VI). Biomass reduction was only observed at high doses. Taking into account the results, B. distachyon showed high capacity to germinate and grow in presence of high doses of Cd, As(V), and specially, of Zn. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Con el fin de estudiar la herencia de la resistencia a Phoma andina varo crvstslliniformis en tomate Lyeopersieon esculentum Mill. derivada de la especie silvestre L. hirsutum se desarrolló la presente investigación durante los meses de mayo a septiembre de 1987 en el Centro Regional de Investigación "La Selva" del Instituto Colombiano Agropecuario (lCA), situado en Rionegro, Antioquia.Se estudiaron cuatro familias derivadas del cruzamiento de tres genotipos de L. hirsutum resistentes a Phoma andina varo erystalliniformis y tres genotipos de L. esculentumsusceptibles a Phoma. Las familias incluyeron los padres, la Fl, la F2, el retrocruzamiento al padre susceptible y el retrocruzamiento al padre resistente. El trabajo se realizó con un diseño de bloques al azar con tres replicaciones. Lasplantas se evaluaron individualmente de acuerdo a una escala de 0-7, donde cero son plantas inmunes y siete plantas muertas. La evaluación se hizo, en alqunas familias, a los60 y, en otras, a los 80 días. Con los datos originales y con los datos transformados se estimaron los siguientes parámetros: 1. Componentes de media, usando el test de escala y el método de Cava" i, 2. Componentes de varianza por el método de Mather. 3. Heredabilidad en sentido amplio,usando la Fl como estimativo de la varianza ambiental y por el método de Mahmud y Kramer; heredabilidad en sentidoestrecho, por el Método de Mather y por el de Warner, 4. Número de genes, usando los métodos de Castle, de Wright y de Mather. Se encontró que todas las familias tenían una varianza de dominancia cercana a cero y una baja varianza ambiental, lo cual resulta en una alta heredabilidad de la resistencia a Phoma andina varo erystalliniformis, tantoen sentido amplio como estrecho. El número mínimo de genes que controlan la resistencia fue de 3 a 4. Teniendo en cuenta lo anterior se concluyó que era posible transferir, sin mayoresdificultades, la resistencia de L. hirsutum a L. esculentum, siempre que no existan efectos pleiotrópicos o de grupos de ligamiento. The inheritance of Phoma andina var. erystalliniformis resistanee derived from the wild species, related to tomate, Lyeopersieon hirsutum was studies at "La Selva" ICA's Experiment Station located at Rionegro (Antioquia), between may and september of 1987. The study was done by employing 6 families in which four different resistent L.hirsutum accessions and four susceptible L. eseulentum genotypes were used as parents. Each of the families included: the parents, the generations F1 and F2 and backcrosses from the F1 to each one of the parents. Thereseareh was carried out with an complete block design with tree replicates. The plants were scored individually, for some families 60 days after transplanting and for the remaning 80 days after transplantinq, by employing a scale in which 7 means killed plants and O no symtoms. Both, the original and the transformed data were subject the following analysis: mean components by using the scaling test (Mather and Jinks, 1971) and Cavalli test; variance components by employing Mather's methology (Mather y Jinks, 1971); different estimates of heritability and the minimum number of gene pairs differentiating the susceptible and resistent parents.In all the studied familles there was an additive variance with high values, a dominance variance close to zero and low environmental variance. The heritability for the resistance was high both in broad and narrow sense, The minimum number of gene pairs differentiating the resistant and susceptible parents was estimated between 3 and 4.Based on the aboye, it is possible to introduce in the cultivated tomato Phoma andina resistance, being important determine before to do so, possible deleterous pleitropiceffects or deletereous linkage groups with the resistant genes.

This study evaluated information shared with parents about infant development through formal sources in five countries and international organizations (i.e., regions). Consistent findings among regions were: (1) Tendency to format information as developmental milestones; (2) Sharing primarily information about motor development, but most often repeating recommendations for advancing language development; (3) Variability in specific information shared among regions and among sources within each region about the same general topics; and (4) Consensus mentioning seven behaviors representing early exploratory, mobility, and communication abilities that support learning and expression. Differences in the content shared among the regions are also described. The findings provide insight into commonalities and differences in educational practices that likely reflect more universal versus regional cultural beliefs and values., (© 2025 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Wearable inertial sensor technology affords opportunities to record the physical activity of young children in their natural environments. The interpretation of these data, however, requires validation. The purpose of this study was to develop and establish the criterion validity of a method of quantifying active and sedentary physical activity using an inertial sensor for pre-ambulatory children with cerebral palsy. Ten participants were video recorded during 30 min physical therapy sessions that encouraged gross motor play activities, and the video recording was behaviorally coded to identify active and sedentary time. A receiver operating characteristic curve identified the optimal threshold to maximize true positive and minimize false positive active time for eight participants in the development dataset. The threshold was 0.417 m/s 2 and was then validated with the remaining two participants; the percent of true positives and true negatives was 92.2 and 89.7%, respectively. We conclude that there is potential for raw sensor data to be used to quantify active and sedentary time in pre-ambulatory children with physical disability, and raw acceleration data may be more generalizable than the sensor-specific activity counts commonly reported in the literature.

Objective: Emotional availability (EA) describes caregiver-child emotional attunement and is critical to fostering adaptive development. Although early physical therapist interventions adopt a family centered approach, the impact of interventions on families is often not quantified. This study compares EA in dyads receiving usual care-early intervention (UC-EI) versus sitting together and reaching to play (START-Play) in addition to UC-EI., Methods: Data were drawn from 106 children with neuromotor delay who were 7 to 16 months old at baseline (mean = 10.5 months) and from their caregiver (91% were mothers). The EA Scale, Fourth Edition, was scored from 5-min videotaped interactions collected at baseline and at 3, 6, and 12 months after baseline. Piecewise multilevel modeling controlling for baseline age and motor delay estimated short- and long-term effects between treatment groups. Additionally, within-group change over time was analyzed to understand if groups differed in direction of EA trajectories. Analyses were run aggregated across all participants and stratified by baseline severity of motor delay or caregiver reported education., Results: When comparing EA between groups, there were significant positive short- and long-term effects of START-Play on adult EA (gs > 0.38), sensitivity (gs > 0.26), structuring (gs > 0.43), and nonintrusiveness (gs > 0.36). For dyads with mild or significant motor delay or whose parent reported less than a bachelor's degree at baseline, positive effects of START-Play were observed., Conclusion: Results support important clinical implications for the positive effect of START-Play on EA. Similar child-level treatment effects highlight that the key difference between START-Play and UC-EI may lie in the way intervention affects caregivers. START-Play may be more beneficial to dyads with higher versus lower risks to EA., Impact: Early physical therapist interventions can have a significant impact on parents, children, and the parent-child relationship. Measuring the effect of these interventions on the relationship is critical to optimizing the delivery of family centered care., (© The Author(s) 2025. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Physical Therapy Association. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Purpose: Evaluate the content and variability of infant motor milestone education provided to parents in popular sources., Methods: Sources were screened for inclusion, and their motor milestone content was coded. Descriptive and inferential analyses were performed., Results: Content from 241 websites, applications, and books was evaluated; 6984 motor milestones were extracted, representing 146 unique milestone codes across 14 categories. Books and applications had more milestone content than websites. There was variability in the milestones mentioned and their associated ages across the sources and relative to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) content. Several frequently mentioned milestones were behaviors that facilitate early learning., Conclusions: There is variability among sources in the motor milestones they provide to parents of infants. The AAP and CDC content likely has some influence on the broader content available, but there is substantial deviation from the information they provide., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (Copyright © 2025 Academy of Pediatric Physical Therapy of the American Physical Therapy Association.)

This study aimed to explore whether early developmental abilities are related to future executive function (EF) in children with motor delays. Fourteen children with motor delays ( Mean age = 10.76, SD = 2.55) were included from a larger study. Object interaction and developmental outcomes (Bayley-III) were evaluated at baseline and 3, 6, and 12 months post-baseline. Bayley-III and EF assessments (Minnesota Executive Function Scale) were conducted at 36 months post-baseline. Children with high EF demonstrated advanced early bimanual, visual-bimanual, receptive language, expressive language, and fine motor skills compared to children with low EF. Significant positive correlations between later Bayley-III and EF scores were found for cognitive, expressive language, and fine motor scores. These preliminary results suggest that early developmental skills support the emergence of EF in children with motor delays.

Purpose: Containers (eg, strollers, bouncers) are an important part of infants' environment but may negatively impact infant development and health. This study evaluated movement and play opportunities, constraints, and manufacturers' developmental claims for infant containers., Methods: Containers were identified through Amazon.com. A content analysis of identified products was conducted to identify movement and visual-manual play opportunities, constraints, and developmental claims., Results: Content was analyzed for 460 containers. Containers varied in their movement and play opportunities; however, most did not incorporate toys and restricted trunk movement, self-directed locomotion, and independent head and trunk control. Containers, especially those with built-in toys, often had claims related to gross motor, sensory, and fine motor development., Conclusion: These findings demonstrate the variability of movement and play opportunities observed across and within categories of infant containers. General recommendations about container use may be less effective than more specific education to parents about selecting and implementing containers., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Academy of Pediatric Physical Therapy of the American Physical Therapy Association.)

Purpose: This study investigated the psychometric properties of a 4-second interval scoring modification of the Assessment of Problem-Solving in Play (ie, Assessment of Problem-Solving in Play 4-second interval scoring [APSP-4])., Methods: A total of 95 children (3-48 months) with or at high risk for neuromotor delay were assessed with the APSP-4 and Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development-III (Bayley). APSP-4 and Bayley cognitive raw scores were compared by age (construct validity) and over time (responsiveness). Twenty percent of videos were scored twice for intra- and interrater reliability., Results: The APSP-4 demonstrated excellent interrater (intraclass correlations [ICCs] ≥ 0.96) and intrarater (ICCs ≥ 0.99) reliability and performed similar to Bayley cognitive raw scores at different ages ( r s > 0.5), and over time ( r  = 0.81). The motor delay had similar effects on APSP-4 and Bayley scores., Conclusions: Results support the validity and reliability evidence of the APSP-4 for use over time in tracking problem-solving skills in young children aged 3 to 48 months. Future research investigating clinical implementation of the APSP-4 is needed., (Copyright © 2024 Academy of Pediatric Physical Therapy of the American Physical Therapy Association.)

Purpose: Identify users' needs for pediatric upper extremity (UE) exoskeletons and how users would like exoskeletons to serve their needs., Methods: Qualitative study design with semi-structured interviews performed with families who are English-speaking with a child aged 3 to 16 years with a chronic need for UE assistance to perform activities. Content analysis was conducted for the responses., Results: Twenty-two parents and 12 children among 21 families participated. Families identified key personal care, function and mobility, manual interaction, academic, recreational, and social activities they would like devices to support. Families rated the importance of a variety of design factors. Families using UE wearable assistive devices noted that they better met their functional needs relative to other needs. Families provided design suggestions for future exoskeletons, including preferences for attachment mechanisms, fasteners, and control systems., Conclusions: This study provides important information to guide the prescription and design of UE exoskeletons for pediatric populations., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Academy of Pediatric Physical Therapy of the American Physical Therapy Association.)

Objective: Because low-dose aspirin is now commonly prescribed in pregnancy, we sought to assess the association between early antenatal exposure and child neurodevelopment., Methods: We performed a noninferiority, masked, neurodevelopmental follow-up study of children between age 33 and 39 months whose mothers had been randomized to daily low-dose aspirin (81 mg) or placebo between 6 0/7 and 13 6/7 weeks of gestation through 37 weeks. Neurodevelopment was assessed with the Bayley-III (Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, 3rd Edition) and the ASQ-3 (Ages and Stages Questionnaire, 3rd Edition). The primary outcome was the Bayley-III cognitive composite score with a difference within 4 points demonstrating noninferiority., Results: A total of 640 children (329 in the low-dose aspirin group, 311 in the placebo group) were evaluated between September 2021 and June 2022. The Bayley-III cognitive composite score was noninferior between the two groups (-1, adjusted mean -0.8, 95% CI, -2.2 to 0.60). Significant differences were not seen in the language composite score (difference 0.7, 95% CI, -0.8 to 2.1) or the motor composite score (difference -0.6, 95% CI, -2.5 to 1.2). The proportion of children who had any component of the Bayley-III score lower than 70 did not differ between the two groups. Similarly, the communication, gross motor, fine motor, problem-solving, and personal-social components of the ASQ-3 did not differ between groups. Maternal characteristics, delivery outcomes, breastfeeding rates, breastfeeding duration, and home environment as measured by the Family Care Indicators were similar., Conclusion: Antenatal low-dose aspirin exposure was not associated with altered neurodevelopmental outcomes at age 3 years., Clinical Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov , NCT04888377., Competing Interests: Financial Disclosure Nancy F. Krebs disclosed a financial relationship with Nurture, Inc, The Danone Company, Pediatric and Maternal Nutrition, and Happy Family Advisory Board. Patricia Hibberd disclosed that money was paid to her institution from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Fogarty International Center, the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Michelle A. Lobo disclosed receiving a consulting fee from the Thrasher Foundation, which supported this work. The other authors did not report any potential conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Children with motor delays are at increased risk for delayed means-end problem-solving (MEPS) performance., Objectives: To evaluate children with motor delays: 1) the impact of motor delay severity and MEPS mastery timing on developmental trajectories of MEPS; and 2) the effectiveness of Sitting Together And Reaching To Play (START-Play) intervention for improving MEPS., Methods: This represents a secondary analysis from a multi-site randomized controlled trial, with blinded assessors and prospective registration. Children with mild or significant motor delays (n = 112, mean age=10.80, SD=2.59 months at baseline) were randomly assigned to START-Play or usual care early intervention (UC-EI) and assessed at five visits across one year using the Means-End Problem-Solving Assessment Tool that included three 30-second MEPS trials per visit. Task mastery occurred at the first visit the child achieved the highest level of performance in at least two of the three trials. Multilevel analyses evaluated trajectories of MEPS outcomes dependent upon the timing of MEPS mastery, motor delay severity, and intervention group., Results: At baseline, children with mild motor delays demonstrated better MEPS than children with significant delays, but this difference was only observed for children who achieved mastery late. Children with significant delays demonstrated greater improvements in MEPS in the post-intervention phase compared to children with mild delays. No MEPS differences were found between START-Play and UC-EI., Conclusion: Motor delay severity and timing of task mastery impacted MEPS trajectories, whereas START-Play intervention did not impact MEPS for children with motor delays., Clinical Trials Registry Identifier: NCT02593825 (https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02593825)., Competing Interests: Conflicts of interest The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Associação Brasileira de Pesquisa e Pós-Graduação em Fisioterapia. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

Aim: Systematically determine the effectiveness and users' perceptions of upper extremity (UE) exoskeletons and robot-assisted devices for pediatric rehabilitation., Methods: PubMed/Medline, Web of Science, Scopus, and Cochrane Library were searched for studies with "exoskeletons"/"robot-assisted devices", children with disabilities, effectiveness data, and English publication. Intervention effectiveness outcomes were classified within components of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health, Children and Youth Version (ICF-CY). Secondary data (users' perceptions; implementation setting) were extracted. Risk of bias and methodological quality were assessed. Descriptive analyses were performed., Results: Seventy-two articles were included. Most evaluated body structure and function and activity outcomes with less emphasis on participation. Most effects across all ICF-CY levels were positive. Devices were primarily evaluated in clinical or laboratory rather than natural environments. Perceptions about device effectiveness were mostly positive, while those about expression, accessibility, and esthetics were mostly negative. A need for increased rigor in research study design was detected., Conclusions: Across populations, devices, settings, interventions, and dosing schedules, UE exoskeletons and robot-assisted devices may improve function, activity, and perhaps participation for children with physical disabilities. Future work should transition devices into natural environments, design devices and implementation strategies to address users' negative perceptions, and increase research rigor.

Aims: Infants with neuromotor disorders demonstrate delays in sitting skills (decreased capacity) and are less likely to maintain independent sitting during play than their peers with typical development (decreased performance). This study aimed to quantify developmental trajectories of sitting capacity and sitting performance in infants with typical development and infants with significant motor delay and to assess whether the relationship between capacity and performance differs between the groups., Methods: Typically developing infants ( n  = 35) and infants with significant motor delay ( n  = 31) were assessed longitudinally over a year following early sitting readiness. The Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM) Sitting Dimension was used to assess sitting capacity, and a 5-min free play observation was used to assess sitting performance., Results: Both capacity and performance increased at a faster rate initially, with more deceleration across time, in infants with typical development compared to infants with motor delay. At lower GMFM scores, changes in GMFM sitting were associated with larger changes in independent sitting for infants with typical development, and the association between GMFM sitting and independent sitting varied more across GMFM scores for typically developing infants., Conclusions: Intervention and assessment for infants with motor delay should target both sitting capacity and sitting performance.

Aim: Systematically evaluate the depth and quality of play recommendations provided in popular sources for parents of infants in the first year of life., Methods: This represents the second stage of a larger analysis of educational content available to parents. Two coders (>90% agreement) extracted and coded play activities from popular websites, applications, and books screened from a systematic online search. Depth of instruction variables were extracted. Activity quality was rated based on opportunities for child-initiated movement, problem-solving with objects, and responsive communication., Results: 4370 play activities from 214 sources were analyzed. Activities were likely to suggest specific ages for infants and that a caregiver be present. Less than half of the activities incorporated toys or provided guidance about how to position or physically support infants. Activity quality was low; most activities did not explicitly encourage parents to provide opportunities for child-initiated movement, problem-solving with objects, or quality communication., Conclusions: Parents may encounter a large number of play activities in popular sources, but the depth of instruction and quality of those activities could be improved. Provision of higher-quality education to parents may enhance parent-child play interactions to positively impact parent and child outcomes, especially for children at risk for delays.

Purpose: This study tested whether the Sitting Together and Reaching to Play (START-Play) physical therapy intervention indirectly impacts cognition through changes in perceptual-motor skills in infants with motor delays., Methods: Participants were 50 infants with motor delays randomly assigned to START-Play plus Usual Care Early Intervention (UC-EI) or UC-EI only. Infants' perceptual-motor and cognitive skills were assessed at baseline and 1.5, 3, 6, and 12 months post-baseline., Results: Short-term changes in sitting, fine motor skills, and motor-based problem-solving, but not reaching, predicted long-term changes in cognition. START-Play indirectly impacted cognition through motor-based problem-solving but not sitting, reaching, or fine motor skills., Conclusions: This study provided preliminary evidence that early physical therapy interventions that blend activities across developmental domains and are supported by an enriched social context can place infants on more optimal developmental trajectories., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Academy of Pediatric Physical Therapy of the American Physical Therapy Association.)

Parents commonly seek information about infant development and play, yet it is unclear what information parents find when looking in popular sources. Play, Milestone, and Development Searches in Google identified 313 sources for content analysis by trained researchers using a standardized coding scheme. Sources included websites, books, and apps created by professional organizations, commercial entities, individuals, the popular press, and government organizations/agencies. The results showed that for popular sources: (1) author information (i.e., qualifications, credentials, education/experience) is not consistently provided, nor is information about the developmental process, parents' role in development, or determining an infant's readiness to play; (2) milestones comprise a majority of the content overall; (3) search terminology impacts the information parents receive; (4) sources from the Milestone and Development Searches emphasized a passive approach of observing developmental milestones rather than suggesting activities to actively facilitate learning and milestone development. These findings highlight the need to discuss parents' online information-gathering process and findings. They also highlight the need for innovative universal parent-education programs that focus on activities to facilitate early development. This type of education has potential to benefit all families, with particular benefits for families with children who have unidentified or untreated developmental delays.