Psychomotor skills in first-year infants born by multiple sclerosis mothers: a single-centre prospective clinical observational study

Introduction. The impact of a mother’s MS on the intrauterine and postnatal development of the infant remains controversial. Aim: to study the influence of mother’s MS, and pathogenetic therapy, on the formation of psychomotor skills in first-year infants under comparison with a group of infants from healthy mothers (“case-control”). Materials and methods. Prospective observational study (“case-control”) at months 3, 6, 9 and 12. The WHO-recommended scale of motor development (WHO six milestones), 46 infants from MS mothers and 46 infants from the control group. Results. The duration of the mother’s MS disease, the severity of the neurological deficit, and the disease course’s activity was found not significantly to affect the motor and neuropsychiatric development of the child in the first year of life. Significant differences were established between the groups of children and patients with MS from the control group in terms of mastering the skills of standing and walking; the presence of better motor parameters in children from patients receiving pathogenetic therapy was established too. The negative influence of interferons in the first trimester on speech skills in infants was revealed. Conclusion. The main influencing factor was mother multiple sclerosis and the pathogenetic therapy received by the mother before and during pregnancy. This fact can play a significant role in managing this infant cohort. Special exercises such as stimulation of motor and speech skills need to be included.

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Positive and Negative Affect Changes during Gender-Affirming Hormonal Treatment: Results from the European Network for the Investigation of Gender Incongruence (ENIGI)

Journal of Clinical Medicine ◽

10.3390/jcm10020296 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (2) ◽

pp. 296

Author(s):

Imke Matthys ◽

Justine Defreyne ◽

Els Elaut ◽

Alessandra Daphne Fisher ◽

Baudewijntje P. C. Kreukels ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Negative Affect ◽

Sex Steroids ◽

Hormonal Treatment ◽

Control Group ◽

First Year ◽

Positive And Negative Affect ◽

European Network ◽

Psychological Burden ◽

The Impact

Improving transgender people’s quality of life (QoL) is the most important goal of gender-affirming care. Prospective changes in affect can influence QoL. We aim to assess the impact of initiating gender-affirming hormonal treatment (HT) on affect. In the European Network for the Investigation of Gender Incongruence (ENIGI) study, we prospectively collected data of 873 participants (451 transwomen (TW) and 422 transmen (TM)). At baseline, psychological questionnaires including the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) were administered. The PANAS, levels of sex steroids and physical changes were registered at each follow-up visit during a 3-year follow-up period, starting at the initiation of hormonal therapy. Data were analyzed cross-sectionally and prospectively. Over the first three months, we observed a decline in positive affect (PA) in both TM and TW. Thereafter, PA reached a steady state in TW, whereas in TM there was also a second decline at 18 months. In both TM and TW there was no persisting difference comparing baseline to the 36-months results. Concerning negative affect (NA), we observed a decline during the first year in TM, which sustained during the second year and was not different anymore at 36 months compared to baseline. In TW though, we did not find any change of NA during the entire follow-up. Even if some of these results show significant differences, they should be considered with caution, since there was no control group and the absolute differences are small. No association between affect and the level of sex steroids was observed. Baseline QoL and psychological burden are related to affect independently from gender but are not necessarily good predictors of the evolution of one’s affect during the gender-affirming process. Further research is necessary to investigate these preliminary results.

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Effect of Whole-Body Cryotherapy on Morphological, Rheological and Biochemical Indices of Blood in People with Multiple Sclerosis

Journal of Clinical Medicine ◽

10.3390/jcm10132833 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (13) ◽

pp. 2833

Author(s):

Bartłomiej Ptaszek ◽

Aneta Teległów ◽

Justyna Adamiak ◽

Jacek Głodzik ◽

Szymon Podsiadło ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Multiple Sclerosis ◽

Neurological Diseases ◽

Venous Blood ◽

Whole Body ◽

Controlled Study ◽

Control Group ◽

Blood Indices ◽

Rheological Indices ◽

Whole Body Cryotherapy ◽

The Impact

The aim of this study was to examine and assess the impact of a series of 20 whole-body cryotherapy (WBC) treatments on the biochemical and rheological indices of blood in people with multiple sclerosis. In this prospective controlled study, the experimental group consisted of 15 women aged 34–55 (mean age, 41.53 ± 6.98 years) with diagnosed multiple sclerosis who underwent a series of whole-body cryotherapy treatments. The first control group consisted of 20 women with diagnosed multiple sclerosis. This group had no intervention in the form of whole-body cryotherapy. The second control group consisted of 15 women aged 30–49 years (mean age, 38.47 ± 6.0 years) without neurological diseases and other chronic diseases who also underwent the whole-body cryotherapy treatment. For the analysis of the blood indices, venous blood was taken twice (first, on the day of initiation of whole-body cryotherapy treatments and, second, after a series of 20 cryotherapy treatments). The blood counts were determined using an ABX MICROS 60 hematological analyzer (USA). The LORCA analyzer (Laser–Optical Rotational Cell Analyzer, RR Mechatronics, the Netherlands) was used to study the aggregation and deformability of erythrocytes. The total protein serum measurement was performed using a Cobas 6000 analyzer, Roche and a Proteinogram-Minicap Sebia analyzer. Fibrinogen determinations were made using a Bio-Ksel, Chrom-7 camera. Statistically significant differences and changes after WBC in the levels of red blood cells (RBC), hemoglobin (HGB), hematocrit (HCT), elongation index, total extend of aggregation (AMP), and proteins (including fibrinogen) were observed. However, there was no significant effect of a series of 20 WBC treatments on changes in blood counts, rheology, and biochemistry in women with multiple sclerosis. Our results show that the use of WBC has a positive effect on the rheological properties of the blood of healthy women.

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Early Physical Therapy Effects on the High-Risk Infant: A Randomized Controlled Trial

PEDIATRICS ◽

10.1542/peds.78.2.216 ◽

1986 ◽

Vol 78 (2) ◽

pp. 216-224

Author(s):

Martha C. Piper ◽

V. Ildiko Kunos ◽

Diana M. Willis ◽

Barbara L. Mazer ◽

Maria Ramsay ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Randomized Controlled Trial ◽

Physical Therapy ◽

High Risk ◽

Motor Development ◽

Controlled Trial ◽

Physical Growth ◽

Control Group ◽

Randomized Controlled ◽

Early Physical Therapy ◽

The Impact

A prospective, randomized, controlled trial was conducted to assess the effects of early physical therapy on infants at risk for neurologic sequelae and to evaluate the impact of such early treatment on the prevention or minimization of future handicaps. A cohort of 134 infants who had received care in two Montreal inborn neonatal intensive care units was identified prospectively. Infants were stratified according to prognosis and birth weight and were randomly assigned to either an experimental or control group. Babies assigned to the experimental group received early physical therapy, whereas those allocated to the control group received conventional follow-up care. Outcome measures were administered by independent evaluators at 12 months and included measures of neurologic status, motor and overall development, and physical growth. No statistically significant differences on any of the measured outcomes at 12 months were found between the experimental and control groups. Infants weighing less than 750 g at birth, regardless of group assignment, consistently demonstrated significant delays in their growth and development when compared with their heavier peers. The early physical therapy program investigated in this study was not efficacious in altering the pattern of motor development in those high-risk infants participating in the trial.

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Validation and cross-cultural adaptation of sexual dysfunction modified scale in multiple sclerosis for Brazilian population

Arquivos de Neuro-Psiquiatria ◽

10.1590/0004-282x20150078 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 73 (8) ◽

pp. 681-687 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Raquel Ataíde Peres da Silva ◽

Guilherme Sciascia do Olival ◽

Lívia Palma Stievano ◽

Vania Balardin Toller ◽

Sergio Semeraro Jordy ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Multiple Sclerosis ◽

Sexual Dysfunction ◽

Cultural Adaptation ◽

Chronic Inflammatory Disease ◽

Cross Cultural ◽

Brazilian Population ◽

Control Group ◽

Cross Cultural Adaptation ◽

The Central Nervous System ◽

The Impact

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the central nervous system (CNS). These patients suffer from various comorbidities, including sexual dysfunction (SD). The lesions of MS may affect regions of the CNS along the pathway of sexual response. The Multiple Sclerosis Intimacy and Sexuality Questionnaire-19 (MSISQ-19) is a scale that assesses sexual dysfunction. Adapt and validate the MSISQ-19 to Brazilian patients with MS. 204 individuals were evaluated, 134 patients with MS and 70 healthy persons for the control group. It was determined reproducibility, validity, internal consistency and sensitivity of the MSISQ-19-BR. Among patients with MS, 54.3% of male and 71.7% of female presented some kind of SD. In the control group the results were 12.5% and 19.5%, respectively. The MSISQ-19-BR is reproducible, reliable and valid for the Brazilian population and may be used as a tool for assessing the impact of sexual dysfunction in patients with MS.

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Validation survey of the impact of urinary incontinence (IIQ-7) and inventory of distress urogenital (UDI-6) – the short scales – in patients with multiple sclerosis

Arquivos de Neuro-Psiquiatria ◽

10.1590/0004-282x20140218 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 73 (1) ◽

pp. 46-51 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Lívia Palma Stievano ◽

Guilherme Sciascia do Olival ◽

Raquel Ataíde Peres da Silva ◽

Vania Balardin Toller ◽

Eduardo Gregorin Carabetta ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Multiple Sclerosis ◽

Urinary Incontinence ◽

Cultural Adaptation ◽

Cross Cultural ◽

Control Group ◽

Alpha Coefficient ◽

Urogenital Distress Inventory ◽

Mcdonald Criteria ◽

The Impact ◽

Review Criteria

Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the Impact Questionnaire of Urinary Incontinence (IIQ-7) and Urogenital Distress Inventory (UDI-6) - short scale - in the Brazilian population with multiple sclerosis. The IIQ-7 and UDI-6 were translated into Portuguese, called IIQ-7-BR and UDI-6-BR. The questionnaires were administered in 211 individuals selected randomly. Of these, 140 had MS according to McDonald criteria and 71 were included in the control group. In both questionnaires, the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was above 0.7. The IIQ-7-BR showed 94.31% concordance between the evaluated studies and UDI-6-BR, 93.33%. Thus, the instruments of this study were presented according to the standards proposed by the Instrument Review Criteria, reliability, validity and sensitivity, maintaining the original scales characteristics.

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THE EFFECTIVENESS OF USING INDEX CARD MATCH IN TEACHING VOCABULARY

Jo-ELT (Journal of English Language Teaching) Fakultas Pendidikan Bahasa & Seni Prodi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris IKIP ◽

10.33394/jo-elt.v5i2.2309 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 5 (2) ◽

pp. 107

Author(s):

Sri Ariani ◽

Tri Setianingsih

Keyword(s):

Teaching Method ◽

Vocabulary Knowledge ◽

Control Group ◽

First Year ◽

Research Subjects ◽

Index Card ◽

First Year Students ◽

Post Test ◽

And Control ◽

The Impact

This research aims to find out Is there any significant differences between the impact of traditional teaching method and using Index Card Match in teaching English vocabulary at the First Year Students of SMA HANG TUAH 3 MATARAM and to find out does using Index Card Match have a positive effect on students’ vocabulary knowledge. The sample of this research is 40 students. The kind of this research is experimental research. The students are divided into two groups such as experimental group and control group. Then the research subjects are pre-tested to know their prior vocabulary mastery. After the treatment, the sample is post-tested to know their recent vocabulary mastery as the result of the treatment. The scores in both pre-test and post-test are taken as the main data of the research. The data is analyzed by using t-test.

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Effect of COVID-19 Lockdown on Patients with Multiple Sclerosis: an Italian Survey

10.47363/jnrrr/2021(3)138 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-7

Author(s):

Marta Altieri ◽

◽

Mariangela Fratino ◽

Flavia Pauri ◽

Antonella Conte ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Multiple Sclerosis ◽

Family Caregiving ◽

Social Life ◽

Negative Impact ◽

Self Report ◽

Psychological Status ◽

Control Group ◽

Clinical Effects ◽

Future Expectations ◽

The Impact

Background: Italy was one of the first affected countries by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Public health measures like quarantine or national lockdown were adopted, with negative psychological and clinical effects on patients with chronic diseases. To investigate the impact of lockdown on patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), we developed a 36 items self-report questionnaire. Methods: Questionnaires were emailed to 120 patients with MS and 100 with chronic migraine (CM) as a control group, matched for age, sex, and education. The questionnaire was divided into five domains, evaluating concerns about 1) MS and therapy during COVID-19 pandemic, 2) personal and family caregiving, 3) working activities, 4) general and disease-related emotions during the lockdown, 5) future expectations concerning health status, social life, and working activity. Results: patients with MS had higher scores than those with CM in domains 4 and 5, investigating respectively general and disease-related emotions and future expectations (p= 0.05 and 0.02 respectively). About half of the patients with MS expressed some concern about the need to continue their therapy during the pandemic compared to people with CM (p= 0.0002). Conclusions: Covid-19 pandemic had a more negative impact on psychological status of patients with MS compared with those with CM

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Introducing students to experimental design skills

Chemistry Education Research and Practice ◽

10.1039/c9rp00234k ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

pp. 331-356 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

L. Szalay ◽

Z. Tóth ◽

E. Kiss

Keyword(s):

Longitudinal Study ◽

Experimental Design ◽

Content Knowledge ◽

Control Group ◽

First Year ◽

School Year ◽

Knowledge And Attitude ◽

Group 2 ◽

Design Skills ◽

The Impact

The results of an earlier empirical research study on modifying ‘step-by-step’ instructions to practical activities requiring one or more steps of the experiments to be designed by students initiated a longitudinal study to investigate the effectiveness of the approach for younger students and over a period of time. The longitudinal study that followed took the form of a four year research project that began in September 2016. Over 900 students have been involved. All were 12–13 years old in the beginning of the study. Each year they spend six lessons carrying out practical activities using worksheets we provide. This paper reports the findings of the first year, when the participating classes were allocated to one of three groups. Group 1 was the control group. Students simply followed the step-by-step instructions. Groups 2 and 3 were experimental groups. Group 2 students not only followed the same instructions, but also had to complete experimental design tasks on paper. Group 3 students followed the same instructions, but one or more steps were incomplete and students were required to design these steps. The impact of the intervention on the students’ experimental design skills, disciplinary content knowledge and attitude toward chemistry is measured by structured tests. After the first school year of the project it was clear that the type of instruction only had a weak significant positive effect on the results of the Group 2 students’ disciplinary content knowledge. No significant effect of the intervention could be detected on the changes in the students’ grades and attitudes toward the subject, which only seemed to depend on the ranking of their schools. This paper provides the interesting details of the results of the first year (pilot) of the research and discusses changes to the approach that have been made for the remaining three years of the project.

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Getting Past the Gateway: An Exploratory Case on Using Utilitarian Scientific Literacy to Support First-Year Students At-Risk of Leaving STEM

Education Sciences ◽

10.3390/educsci9040265 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (4) ◽

pp. 265

Author(s):

Chambers ◽

Salter ◽

Muldrow

Keyword(s):

At Risk ◽

Scientific Literacy ◽

Student Experiences ◽

Control Group ◽

First Year ◽

Students At Risk ◽

First Year Students ◽

Stem Pipeline ◽

Literacy Course ◽

The Impact

First-year students who enter college pursuing a STEM degree still face challenges persisting through the STEM pipeline (Chen, 2013; Leu, 2017). In this case study, researchers examine the impact of a utilitarian scientific literacy based academic intervention on retention of first-year students in STEM using a mixed methods approach. A sample (n = 116) of first-year students identified as at-risk of not persisting in STEM were enrolled in a for credit utilitarian scientific literacy course. Participants of the semester long course were then compared with a control group of first-year students identified as at-risk of persisting in STEM. A two-proportion z test was performed to assess the mean differences between students and participants of the course were given a survey to gauge student experiences. Quantitative results (φ 0.34, p < 0.05) indicate that the utilitarian scientific literacy course had a statistically significant impact on retention among first-year students at-risk of persisting in STEM. Moreover, qualitative data obtained from participant responses describe internal and external growth as positive outcomes associated with the intervention.

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Impact of cooperative learning on teamwork competence

Academia Revista Latinoamericana de Administración ◽

10.1108/arla-10-2018-0217 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 32 (1) ◽

pp. 93-106 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Melany Hebles ◽

Concepción Yaniz-Álvarez-de-Eulate ◽

Mauricio Jara

Keyword(s):

Cooperative Learning ◽

Collective Efficacy ◽

Business Students ◽

Control Group ◽

First Year ◽

First Year Students ◽

Content Type ◽

Five Dimensions ◽

Complex Dimensions ◽

The Impact

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of a classroom application of the cooperative learning (CL) methodology on nine dimensions of business students’ teamwork competence (TC).Design/methodology/approachThe authors used a quasi-experimental pre-post design with a previous cohort as control group (first-year students from the year prior to treatment application), applying treatment to a sample of 228 first-year students in a School of Economics and Business at a Chilean University (114 as treatment and 114 as control).FindingsThe authors’ results show that CL had a positive, significant influence on five dimensions of TC: collective efficacy, planning, goal setting, problem solving and conflict management.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper upholds the importance and effectiveness of CL in developing TC. However, the evidence suggests that the effectiveness of the CL methodology was limited to development and improvement of less complex dimensions of TC. More complex dimensions require a longer period of time to be developed.Practical implicationsThis research is an important contribution to the design and implementation of appropriate methodologies for developing a widely needed area of competence in the workplace, considering its multidimensional nature, whether in academia or business.Originality/valueThis is the first study to seek empirical evidence that would link the CL methodology with TC. In addition, it fills a gap in the literature on the development of TC in its multiple dimensions. It particularly addresses the training of business professionals.

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