Enhancements in Cognitive Performance and Academic Achievement in Adolescents through the Hybridization of an Instructional Model with Gamification in Physical Education

An educational physical education (PE) hybridization program based on the personal and social responsibility model and gamification strategies was used in order to explore the effect on cognitive performance and academic achievement. A 9-month group-randomized controlled trial was conducted, with 150 participants (age: 14.63 ± 1.38) allocated into the control group (CG, n = 37) and experimental group (EG, n = 113). Inhibition, verbal fluency, planning, and academic achievement were assessed. Significant differences were observed in the post-test for cognitive inhibition, verbal fluency (named animals), and the mean of both verbal fluency tasks in favor of the EG. With regard to the intervention, verbal fluency (named animals), verbal fluency (named vegetables), the mean of both verbal fluency tasks, cognitive inhibition, language, the average of all subjects, the average of all subjects except PE, and the average from the core subjects increased significantly in the EG. Values for the last five variables (academic variables and cognitive inhibition) in addition to mathematics also increased in the CG. This study contributes to the current knowledge by suggesting that both methodologies produced improvements in the measured variables, but the use of the hybridization resulted in improvements in cognitive performance, specifically with regard to cognitive inhibition and verbal fluency.

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Enhancements on Cognitive Performance and Academic Achievement in Adolescents Through the Hybridization of an Instructional Model With Gamification in Physical Education

10.20944/preprints202104.0535.v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

David Melero-Cañas ◽

Vicente Morales-Baños ◽

Daniel N. Ardoy ◽

Alfonso Valero-Valenzuela ◽

David Manzano-Sánchez

Keyword(s):

Academic Achievement ◽

Physical Education ◽

Cognitive Performance ◽

Verbal Fluency ◽

Controlled Trial ◽

Control Group ◽

Cognitive Inhibition ◽

Core Subjects ◽

Post Test ◽

Hybrid Program

This study examined the effect of an educational hybrid physical education (PE) intervention on cognitive performance and academic achievement in adolescents. A 9-month group-randomized controlled trial was conducted in 150 participants (age: 14.63 ± 1.38) allocated into control group (CG, n = 37) and experimental group (EG, n = 113). Inhibition, verbal fluency, planning and academic achievement were assessed. Significant differences were observed in the post-test for cognitive inhibition, verbal fluency in animals, and the average from verbal fluency in favour of the EG. With regard to the intervention, verbal fluency in animals, verbal fluency in vegetables, the average of verbal fluency, cognitive inhibition, language, the average of all subjects, the average of all subjects except PE, and the average from the core subjects) increased significantly in the EG. The last five variables (the academic ones and cognitive inhibition) also increased in the CG, in addition to mathematics. This study contributes to the knowledge by suggesting that both methodologies produced improvements in the measured variables, but the use of a hybrid program based on TPSR and gamification strategies produce improvements in cognitive performance, specifically through the cognitive inhibition and verbal fluency.

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Effects of an Educational Hybrid Physical Education Program on Physical Fitness, Body Composition and Sedentary and Physical Activity Times in Adolescents: The Seneb’s Enigma

Frontiers in Psychology ◽

10.3389/fpsyg.2020.629335 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 ◽

Author(s):

David Melero-Cañas ◽

Vicente Morales-Baños ◽

David Manzano-Sánchez ◽

Dani Navarro-Ardoy ◽

Alfonso Valero-Valenzuela

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Body Composition ◽

Physical Education ◽

Physical Fitness ◽

Cardiorespiratory Fitness ◽

Sedentary Time ◽

Controlled Trial ◽

Field Tests ◽

Control Group ◽

Personal And Social Responsibility

Physical activity (PA), body composition and sedentary behavior may affect the health of children. Therefore, this study examined the effect of an educational hybrid physical education (PE) program on physical fitness (PF), body composition and sedentary and PA times in adolescents. A 9-month group-randomized controlled trial was conducted in 150 participants (age: 14.63 ± 1.38 years) allocated into the control group (CG, n = 37) and experimental group (EG, n = 113). Cardiorespiratory fitness, speed, strength, agility, flexibility and body mass index (BMI) were assessed through previously validated field tests. Sedentary time, PA at school and afterschool were evaluated with the Youth Activity Profile-Spain questionnaire. Significant differences were observed concerning to the CG in APA-weekend (p = 0.044), speed-agility (p = 0.005) and agility (p = 0.008). Regarding the intervention, cardiorespiratory fitness (p = 0.000), speed-agility (p = 0.000), strength (p = 0.000), flexibility (p = 0.000), agility (p = 0.000), PA in school (p = 0.011), APA-weekday (p = 0.001), APA-weekend (p = 0.000), APA-week (p = 0.000), and sedentary time (p = 0.000) increased significantly in the EG. The use of a hybrid program based on teaching personal and social responsibility and gamification strategies produced enhancements in cardiorespiratory fitness, agility, speed, APA-weekdays and APA-weekends, reducing the sedentary time.

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Transferability and Sustainability of Motor-Cognitive Dual-Task Training in Patients with Dementia: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Gerontology ◽

10.1159/000490852 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 65 (1) ◽

pp. 68-83 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Nele Christin Lemke ◽

Christian Werner ◽

Stefanie Wiloth ◽

Peter Oster ◽

Jürgen M. Bauer ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Randomized Controlled Trial ◽

Cognitive Performance ◽

Dual Task ◽

Verbal Fluency ◽

Controlled Trial ◽

Intervention Group ◽

Control Group ◽

Transfer Effects ◽

Significant Group ◽

Randomized Controlled

Background: Specific dual-task (DT) training is effective to improve DT performance in trained tasks in patients with dementia (PwD). However, it remains an open research question whether successfully trained DTs show a transfer effect to untrained DT performances. Objective: To examine transfer effects and the sustainability of a specific DT training in PwD. Methods: One hundred and five patients with mild-to-moderate dementia (Mini-Mental State Examination: 21.9 ± 2.8 points) participated in a 10-week randomized, controlled trial. The intervention group (IG) underwent a specific DT training (“walking and counting”). The control group (CG) performed unspecific low-intensity exercise. DT performance was measured under three conditions: (1) “walking and counting” (trained); (2) “walking and verbal fluency” (semi-trained), and (3) “strength and verbal fluency” (untrained). Outcomes evaluated at baseline, after training, and 3 months after the intervention period included absolute values for the motor and cognitive performance under DT conditions, and relative DT costs (DTCs) in motor, cognitive and combined motor-cognitive performance. Results: The IG significantly improved DT performances in the trained condition for absolute motor and cognitive performance and for motor, cognitive, and combined motor-cognitive DTCs compared to the CG (p ≤ 0.001–0.047; ηp2 = 0.044–0.249). Significant transfer effects were found in the semi-trained condition for absolute motor and partly cognitive performance, and for motor but not for cognitive DTCs, and only partly for combined DTCs (p ≤ 0.001–0.041; ηp2 = 0.049–0.150). No significant transfer effects were found in the untrained condition. Three months after training cessation, DT performance in the trained condition was still elevated for most of the outcomes (p ≤ 0.001–0.038; ηp2 = 0.058–0.187). Training gains in the DT performance in the semi-trained condition were, however, not sustained, and no significant group differences were found in the DT performance in the untrained condition after the follow-up. Conclusion: This study confirmed that specific DT training is effective in improving specifically trained DT performances in PwD and demonstrated sustainability of training-induced effects for at least 3 months. Effects were partially transferable to semi-trained DTs but not to untrained DTs. With increasing distance between trained and untrained DTs, transferability of training effects decreased.

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The impact of vildagliptin on the daily glucose profile and coronary plaque stability in impaired glucose tolerance patients with coronary artery disease: VOGUE—A multicenter randomized controlled trial

BMC Cardiovascular Disorders ◽

10.1186/s12872-021-01902-0 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Hiroyuki Yamamoto ◽

Akihide Konishi ◽

Toshiro Shinke ◽

Hiromasa Otake ◽

Masaru Kuroda ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Coronary Artery Disease ◽

Controlled Trial ◽

Control Group ◽

Randomized Controlled ◽

Fibrous Cap ◽

Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial ◽

The Mean ◽

Artery Disease ◽

Fibrous Cap Thickness ◽

The Impact

Abstract Background The impact of reduction in glycemic excursion on coronary plaques remains unknown. This study aimed to elucidate whether a dipeptidyl peptidase 4 inhibitor could reduce the glycemic excursion and stabilize the coronary plaques compared with conventional management in coronary artery disease (CAD) patients with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT). Methods This was a multicenter, randomized controlled trial including CAD patients with IGT under lipid-lowering therapy receiving either vildagliptin (50 mg once a day) or no medication (control group) regarding glycemic treatment. The primary endpoint was changes in the minimum fibrous cap thickness and lipid arc in non-significant native coronary plaques detected by optical coherence tomography at 6 months after intervention. Glycemic variability expressed as the mean amplitude of glycemic excursion (MAGE) measured with a continuous glucose monitoring system was evaluated before and 6 months after intervention. Results A total of 20 participants with 47 lesions were allocated to either the vildagliptin group (10 participants, 22 lesions) or the control group (10 participants, 25 lesions). The adjusted difference of mean changes between the groups was − 18.8 mg/dl (95% confidence interval, − 30.8 to − 6.8) (p = 0.0064) for the MAGE (vildagliptin, − 20.1 ± 18.0 mg/dl vs. control, 2.6 ± 12.7 mg/dl), − 22.8° (− 40.6° to − 5.1°) (p = 0.0012) for the mean lipid arc (vildagliptin, − 9.0° ± 25.5° vs. control, 15.8° ± 16.8°), and 42.7 μm (15.3 to 70.1 μm) (p = 0.0022) for the minimum fibrous cap thickness (vildagliptin, 35.7 ± 50.8 μm vs. control, − 15.1 ± 25.2 μm). Conclusions Vildagliptin could reduce the MAGE at 6 months and may be associated with the decreased lipid arc and increased minimum FCT of the coronary plaques in CAD patients with IGT as compared with the control group. These findings may represent its potential stabilization effect on coronary plaques, which are characteristic in this patient subset. Trial registration Registered in the UMIN clinical trial registry (UMIN000008620), Name of the registry: VOGUE trial, Date of registration: Aug 6, 2012, URL: https://upload.umin.ac.jp/cgi-open-bin/ctr/ctr_view.cgi?recptno=R000010058

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Manual Therapy in Cervical and Lumbar Radiculopathy: A Systematic Review of the Literature

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18116176 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (11) ◽

pp. 6176

Author(s):

Tomasz Kuligowski ◽

Anna Skrzek ◽

Błażej Cieślik

Keyword(s):

Manual Therapy ◽

Functional Outcomes ◽

Web Of Science ◽

Current Knowledge ◽

Controlled Trial ◽

Future Research ◽

Lumbar Radiculopathy ◽

Inclusion Criteria ◽

Randomized Controlled ◽

The Mean

The aim of this study was to describe and update current knowledge of manual therapy accuracy in treating cervical and lumbar radiculopathy, to identify the limitations in current studies, and to suggest areas for future research. The study was conducted according to PRISMA guidelines for systematic reviews. A comprehensive literature review was conducted using PubMed and Web of Science databases up to April 2020. The following inclusion criteria were used: (1) presence of radiculopathy; (2) treatment defined as manual therapy (i.e., traction, manipulation, mobilization); and (3) publication defined as a Randomized Controlled Trial. The electronic literature search resulted in 473 potentially relevant articles. Finally, 27 articles were accepted: 21 on cervical (CR) and 6 in lumbar radiculopathy (LR). The mean PEDro score for CR was 6.6 (SD 1.3), and for LR 6.7 (SD 1.6). Traction-oriented techniques are the most frequently chosen treatment form for CR and are efficient in reducing pain and improving functional outcomes. In LR, each of the included publications used a different form of manual therapy, which makes it challenging to summarize knowledge in this group. Of included publications, 93% were either of moderate or low quality, which indicates that quality improvement is necessary for this type of research.

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OP0159 EFFICACY OF COMPREHENSIVE TECHNOLOGY-ASSISTED HOME-BASED EXERCISE IN ANKYLOSING SPONDYLITIS: A RANDOMIZED, CONTROLLED TRIAL

Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases ◽

10.1136/annrheumdis-2020-eular.5100 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 79 (Suppl 1) ◽

pp. 100.3-100

Author(s):

Y. Wang ◽

X. Liu ◽

Y. Shi ◽

X. Ji ◽

W. Wang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Exercise Intervention ◽

Medical Center ◽

Controlled Trial ◽

Intervention Group ◽

Exercise Program ◽

Group Differences ◽

Control Group ◽

Home Based ◽

The Mean

Background:Clinical practice guidelines recommend that exercise is an essential component in the self-management of Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS). Attending supervised interventions requiring periodic medical center visits can be burdensome and patients may decline participation, whereas, effective home-based exercise interventions that do not need regular medical center visits are likely to be more accessible and acceptable for patients with AS. Recently, increasing evidences have been accumulated that the wearable devices could facilitate patients with inflammatory arthritis by giving exercise instructions and improving self-efficacy. Therefore, patients with AS may benefit from an effective technology-assisted home-based exercise intervention.Objectives:To investigate the efficacy of a comprehensive technology-assisted home-based exercise intervention on disease activity in patients with AS.Methods:This study was a 16-week assessor-blinded, randomized, waiting-list controlled trial (ChiCTR1900024244). Patients with AS were randomly allocated to the home-based exercise intervention group and the waiting-list control group. A 16-week comprehensive exercise program consisting of a moderate intensity (64%-76% HRmax) aerobic training for 30min on 5 days/week and a functional training for 60min on 3 days/week was given to patients in the intervention group immediately after randomization, with 1.5h training sessions for two consecutive days by a study physical therapist at baseline and Week 8. The aerobic exercise intensity was controlled by a Mio FUSE Wristband with a smartphone application. The functional training consisted of the posture training, range of motion exercises, strength training, stability training and stretching exercises. Patients in control group received standard care during the 16-week follow-up and started to receive the exercise program at Week 16. The primary outcome was ASDAS at Week 16. The secondary outcomes were BASDAI, BASFI, BASMI, ASAS HI, peak oxygen uptake, body composition and muscle endurance tests. The mean difference between groups in change from baseline was analyzed with the analysis of covariance.Results:A total of 54 patients with AS were enrolled (26 in intervention group and 28 in control group) and 46 (85.2%) patients completed the 16-week follow-up. The mean difference of ASDAS between groups in change from baseline to 16-week follow-up was −0.2 (95% CI, −0.4 to 0.003, P = 0.032), and the mean change from baseline was -0.4 (95% CI, -0.5 to -0.2) in the intervention group vs -0.1 (95% CI, -0.3 to 0.01) in the control group, respectively. Significant between-group differences were found between groups for BASDAI (−0.5 [95% CI, −0.9 to −0.2], P = 0.004), BASMI (−0.7 [95% CI, −1.1 to −0.4], P <0.001), BASFI (−0.3 [95% CI, −0.6 to 0.01], P=0.035), peak oxygen uptake (2.7 [95% CI, 0.02 to 5.3] ml/kg/min, P=0.048) and extensor endurance test (17.8 [95% CI, 0.5 to 35.2]s, P=0.044) at Week 16. Between-group differences were detected in ASAS HI (−0.9 [95% CI, −1.7 to −0.1], P=0.030), body fat percentage (−1.0 [95% CI, −2.0 to −0.01] %, P=0.048) and visceral adipose tissue (−4.9 [95% CI, −8.5 to −1.4] cm2, P=0.008) at Week 8, but not at Week 16. No significant between-group differences were detected in the total lean mass, time up and go test and the flexor endurance test during the follow-up.Conclusion:Comprehensive technology-assisted home-based exercise has been shown to have beneficial effects on disease activity, physical function, spinal mobility, aerobic capacity, and body composition as well as in improving fatigue and morning stiffness of patients with AS.References:[1]van der Heijde D, Ramiro S, Landewé R, et al. Ann Rheum Dis 2017;76:978–991.Disclosure of Interests:None declared

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The effectiveness of emotional freedom techniques (EFT) on depression of postmenopausal women: a randomized controlled trial

Journal of Complementary and Integrative Medicine ◽

10.1515/jcim-2020-0245 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 0 (0) ◽

Author(s):

Asieh Mehdipour ◽

Parvin Abedi ◽

Somayeh Ansari ◽

Maryam Dastoorpoor

Keyword(s):

Randomized Controlled Trial ◽

Postmenopausal Women ◽

Controlled Trial ◽

Intervention Group ◽

Control Group ◽

Randomized Controlled ◽

Moderate Depression ◽

Before And After ◽

The Mean ◽

And Control

Abstract Objectives Postmenopausal women are at greater risk of depression. Depression may negatively affect the quality of life of women. An emotional freedom technique (EFT) is an evidence-based therapy combining cognitive and exposure components with acupressure. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of EFT on depression in postmenopausal women. Methods This was a randomized controlled trial in which 88 women with mild to moderate depression recruited from a menopausal clinic in Ahvaz, Iran, and randomly assigned into two groups of EFT (n=44) and control for sham therapy (n=44). Women in the EFT group received two sessions of training and asked to continue EFT for 8 weeks, one time per day. The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI2) completed by women before and after the intervention. The control group received training on sham acupressure points similar to the intervention group. Data collected using a demographic and BDI2. Women requested to complete the BDI2 before and after the intervention. The independent t-test, chi-square, and ANCOVA were used to analyze data. Results The mean depression score in the intervention group reduced from 20.93 ± 4.6 to 10.96 ± 4.38 in comparison to the control group that reduced from 19.18 ± 2.79 to 17.01 ± 6.05 after intervention (p=0.001). After the 8 week intervention, the frequency of moderate depression decreased from 56.8 to 9.35% in the intervention and from 50 to 29.5% in the control group. In total, 63.4 and 34.15% in the intervention and control groups were free of depression respectively after the intervention (p<0.001). Conclusions The results of this study showed that using EFT for 8 weeks could significantly reduce the mean score of depression in postmenopausal women. Using this method in public health centers for postmenopausal women is recommended.

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Effect of Linear and Nonlinear Pedagogy Physical Education Interventions on Children’s Physical Activity: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial (SAMPLE-PE)

Children ◽

10.3390/children8010049 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

pp. 49

Author(s):

Matteo Crotti ◽

James R. Rudd ◽

Simon Roberts ◽

Lynne M. Boddy ◽

Katie Fitton Davies ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Randomized Controlled Trial ◽

Physical Education ◽

Primary Schools ◽

Controlled Trial ◽

Control Group ◽

Usual Practice ◽

Randomized Controlled ◽

Children’S Physical Activity ◽

Pedagogical Approaches

Background: School-based interventions are a key opportunity to improve children’s physical activity (PA); however, there is lack of evidence about how pedagogical approaches to motor learning in physical education (PE) might affect PA in children. Therefore, this study aimed to assess how different pedagogical approaches in PE might affect children’s PA. Methods: Participants (n = 360, 5–6 years) from 12 primary schools within the SAMPLE-PE randomized controlled trial were randomly allocated to either Linear Pedagogy (LP: n = 3) or Nonlinear Pedagogy (NP: n = 3) interventions, where schools received a 15-week PE intervention delivered by trained coaches, or to a control group (n = 6), where schools followed usual practice. ActiGraph GT9X accelerometers were used to assess PA metrics (moderate-to-vigorous PA, mean raw acceleration and lowest acceleration over the most active hour and half hour) over whole and segmented weeks at baseline, immediately post-intervention and 6 months follow-up. Intention to treat analysis employing multilevel modelling was used to assess intervention effects. Results: LP and NP interventions did not significantly affect children’s PA levels compared to the control group. Conclusion: PE interventions based on LP and NP alone might not be effective in improving habitual PA in children.

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Effect of Hope-oriented group counseling on mental health of infertile women with failed IVF cycles: a randomized controlled trial

BMC Psychiatry ◽

10.1186/s12888-021-03280-5 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Roya Rahimi ◽

Shirin Hasanpour ◽

Mojgan. Mirghafourvand ◽

Khalil Esmaeilpour

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Confidence Interval ◽

Group Counseling ◽

Controlled Trial ◽

Intervention Group ◽

Mean Difference ◽

Control Group ◽

The Mean ◽

And Control

Abstract Background Considering the prevalence of infertility in the community and the consequences of failure of infertility treatments on women’s mental health, interventions that can control stress, anxiety and depression in infertile women with a history of IVF failure will be very helpful. This study aimed to determine the effects of hope-oriented group counseling on mental health (primary outcome) and quality of life (QoL) (secondary outcome) of women with failed IVF cycles. Method This randomized controlled trial was conducted on 60 women with failed IVF cycles visiting Infertility Clinic at Al-Zahra Teaching Hospital of Tabriz- Iran. Participants were allocated to the intervention group (n = 30) and control group (n = 30) based on a randomized block design. Hope-oriented group counseling was provided to the intervention group in six 45–60 min sessions (once a week). The control group only received routine care to undergo another IVF cycle. The Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) and the SF-12 Quality of Life Scale were filled out by interviewing the participants before the intervention and one week and one month after the intervention. After intervention 26 participants in each group were included in the analysis. Results There was no significant difference between the intervention and control groups in the socio-demographic profile of participants (P > 0.05). The post-intervention mean score of stress (adjusted mean difference = − 1.7, 95% confidence interval: − 3.2 to − 0.3, P = 0.018) and depression (adjusted mean difference = − 1.3, 95% confidence interval: − 4.7 to − 1.5, P < 0.001) was significantly lower in the intervention group compared to the control. Although the mean anxiety score was lower in the intervention group compared to the control, the difference between them was not statistically significant (adjusted mean difference = − 1.1, 95% confidence interval: − 2.6 to 0.4, P = 0.153). The mean score of QoL was significantly higher in the intervention group than that of the control group (adjusted mean difference = 6.9, 95% confidence interval: 5.1 to 8.8, P < 0.001). Conclusion Hope-oriented group counseling was effective in reducing stress and depression and improving QoL in women with failed IVF cycles. It is recommended to use this counseling approach, along with other methods, to improve the mental health of women with failed IVF cycles. Trial registration TCT Registration Number: TCTR 20191017003, registered on October 17, 2019.

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Effect of Activity-Based Games on Students' Academic Achievement in Social Sciences

FWU Journal of Social Sciences ◽

10.51709/19951272/fall-2021/5 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 82-95

Keyword(s):

Academic Achievement ◽

Performance Test ◽

Mean Value ◽

Control Group ◽

Second Phase ◽

Initial Stage ◽

Post Test ◽

The Mean ◽

Based Instruction ◽

Experimental Group

The purpose of the research was to investigatethe effect of activity-based games on the academic achievement of graduate-level pupils in social sciences.An experimental research design with a pre-and post-test control group was used in this study. As pre-test and post-test, MCQ achievement tests containing 70 items were used as research methods for data collecting. The initial stage in this initiative was to collect data on what inspires children to learn. Both groups took a pre-test, and the results were tallied.The project's second phase was to study the effects of variousactivities on academic achievement. Both groups were given an MCQ performance test. The T-test was used to analyze the data. The findings of this study demonstrated that, compared to the control group, mostpupils'marks improved in the experimental group. The mean value showedthat experimental group participants scored 18.77on the post-test, while control group students scored 16.21. According to a post-lesson poll, most students regarded activity-based games to be more engaging than lecture-based instruction.

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