Improving Upper Extremity Strength, Function, and Trunk Stability Using Wide-Pulse Functional Electrical Stimulation in Combination With Functional Task-Specific Practice

Objectives: To evaluate upper extremity (UE) function, strength, and dynamic sitting balance in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) who received an intensive outpatient therapy program focused on UE training augmented with wide pulse/high frequency functional electrical stimulation (WPHF-FES). Methods: This prospective case series was conducted in an outpatient (OP) clinic in an SCI-specific rehabilitation hospital. Participants were a convenience sample (N = 50) of individuals with tetraplegia receiving OP therapy focused on UE recovery. Individuals participated in 60 minutes of UE functional task-specific practice (FTP) in combination with WPHF-FES 5 times/week for an average of 72 sessions. The primary outcome for this analysis was the Capabilities of Upper Extremity Test (CUE-T). Secondary outcomes include UE motor score (UEMS) and the modified functional reach (MFR). Results: Fifty individuals (13 motor complete; 37 motor incomplete SCI) completed an OP UE training program incorporating WPHF-FES and were included in this analysis. On average, participants demonstrated significant improvements in the total CUE-T score of 14.1 (SD = 10.0, p < .0001) points; significant changes were also noted in UEMS and MFR, improving an average of 4.6 (SD = 5.2, p < .0001) points and 13.6 (SD = 15.8, p < .0001) cm, respectively. Conclusion: Individuals with tetraplegia demonstrated significant improvements in UE strength, function, and dynamic sitting trunk balance after receiving UE training augmented with WPHF-FES. Future comparative effectiveness studies need to be completed to guide efficacious treatment interventions in OP therapy.

Characteristics of expert vocalists’ practice

This study investigated expert vocalists’ approaches to practice in terms of planning, time, and strategy usage. Participants were 79 university voice professors and members of professional choirs. The researchers sent each participant the Vocal Practice Survey (VPS)which collected data on the participants’ professional backgrounds, attitudes toward specific practice strategies, and personal practice habits. Results indicated variety in expert vocalists’ approaches to practice, including number of practice sessions per week, length of practice sessions, and structure of practice sessions. Most participants reported using practice resources, especially a piano and a mirror. Participants reported a broad range of frequency in strategy use, with holistic practice strategies dominating. Comments from participants indicated that group rehearsals also served as individual practice opportunities, that there were differences between students’ and experts’ practice, and that an important role of practice was facilitating vocal health. The findings of this study provide a point of reference for comparing vocal practice to instrumental practice and for further development of research of vocal musicians at varying levels of expertise. The researchers also provide recommendations for music educators regarding the instruction and promotion of effective individual vocal practice.

Decision-Making Process Factors Explain Some of the Heterogeneity of Irrigation Practices among Maize Farmers in Southwestern France

Agricultural practices are heterogeneous among farmers in the face of climate hazards. Structural and material resources as well as risk preferences explain some of this heterogeneity, but little is known about how psychological factors associated with the decision-making process may explain differences in practices among farmers. The aim of this study was to understand whether decision-making process factors help explain the heterogeneity of a specific practice—the date of first irrigation—among maize farmers, along with material and structural factors. We conducted semi-directed interviews with 35 farmers who irrigated maize in southwestern France. We analyzed discriminating factors of the decision-making process, such as reactivity (i.e., capacity to change plans), deliberation (i.e., level of internal information used to make decisions) and assistance (i.e., level of external information used to make decisions). We used two complementary statistical methods (linear regression and regression trees) to analyze the database. Our study confirms the influence of material and structural factors, and also reveals the strong influence of decision-making process factors. A high level of reactivity is associated with adaptive behavior. Moreover, using decision-support tools and technologies helps farmers to manage the use of water resources. These elements could be used by advisors and public policy-makers in the agriculture sector to improve adaptation.

“Sewing Is Part of Our Tradition”: A Case Study of Sewing as a Strategy for Arts-Based Inquiry in Health Research With Inuit Women

In this article, we present a case study of sewing as a strategy for arts-based inquiry in health research, situated within a broader project that highlighted Nunavut Inuit women’s childbirth experiences. Five focus groups were hosted as sewing sessions with pregnant women ( N = 19) in Iqaluit, Nunavut (2017–2018). Women’s reflections on the sessions, and the significance of sewing to Inuit, were integrated with researchers’ critical reflections to examine the value of sewing as a strategy for arts-based inquiry within a focus group method: results related to the flexibility of the sessions; how collective sewing created space for voicing, sharing, and relating; sewing as a tactile and place-specific practice tied to Inuit knowledge and tradition; and lessons learned. Our results underscore the possibilities of arts-based approaches, such as sewing, to enhance data gathering within a focus group method and to contribute to more locally appropriate, place-based methods for Indigenous health research.

10.L. Workshop: City-level action to promote public health

With over 50% of the world's population living in cities, urban action on health is a foremost global priority. This workshop will highlight the essential role city governments play in developing and implementing policies and practices to prevent noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and injuries. Although traditionally perceived as the domain of national governments, actions to protect citizens from risk factors- including air quality, speeding and unsafe road conditions- that cause NCDs and injuries are readily being adopted and implemented by cities. This is due to both the magnitude of the chronic disease and injury burden and the subsequent need for immediate action, and the proximity local governments have to directly changing environments to improve health outcomes. The World Health Organization's (WHO) European Healthy Cities Network has long supported cities in the region in their efforts to put health at the centre of their social, political and economic agendas. This work has been formative in drawing attention to the role of cities. The presentations in this panel will provide specific practice examples of the principles upheld by that network. The workshop will present a diverse set of case studies illuminating city responses to NCDs and injuries, including during the COVID-19 pandemic. By doing so, the discussion will demonstrate the value of what empowered, committed and well-resourced local governments - specifically Health and Transportation Departments - can do to reduce death and disability in urban settings. Showcasing these examples will also provide workshop participants with practical examples of how policy and practice are translated from the global and national to the local level in a variety of geographical settings, and the different ways in which context has been taken into account during implementation. The result will be an exchange of good practices that will hopefully spur other cities and relevant stakeholders to pursue similar interventions in their own municipalities. Key messages City-level action can effectively address leading risk factors to health. Exchanging learnings from city experiences can lead to replication and adaptation in other cities.

Exploration and Practice of Teaching from the Perspective of New Liberal Arts The Case of the Course “Introduction to Cultural Industry”

The construction of new liberal arts brings new goals and challenges to the cultivation of liberal arts talents, while it provides new opportunities and approaches for the development of Humanities and Social Sciences. As one of the basic courses of Humanities, the course of Introduction to Cultural Industry must adapt to the changes and development of the times and carry out timely teaching reform. Based on the discussion of the connotation of the new liberal arts, taking the specific practice of the course “Introduction to cultural industry” of Ningbo University as an example, this paper addresses the teaching exploration and practice adapting to the new era from the following four aspects: General Education of Humanities and Social Sciences, student centered updating of teaching content, acceptance of online courses to enhance educational technology, and achievement oriented knowledge transformation.

Does the Change in Smoking and Marijuana Use Policies Influence Adolescents’ Risky Sexual Behaviors and Other Associated Factors?

Introduction: Despite evidence from numerous studies that document the association between risky sexual behaviors (RSBs) and behaviors driving them, few had investigated the trends of the association over time, which was the objective of this study.Methods: A total of 61,072 students from four Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBS) survey years (1993, 2001, 2009, and 2017) were included. The relationship between five risky behaviors (suicide risk, smoking, binge drinking, marijuana use, and physical fight) and two indicators of RSBs (condom non-use and multiple sexual partners) was investigated. Interactions between survey years and risky behaviors were included in the models to test the strength of associations over time.Results: Compared to previous years, most associations between risky behaviors and RSBs were converging. However, there were no consistent decreasing changes in associations across time in marijuana, smoking, and RSBs relationships.Conclusion: Findings raise concerns about the potential impact of interventions directed toward adolescent’s substance use. However, longitudinal studies are needed to clarify directionality and make more specific practice and policy recommendations for adolescents’ smoking and marijuana use as proxies to reduce the growing burden of STIs among this population.Policy Implications: Despite the public push against adolescent’s substance use, our findings may suggest that the policies around tobacco and marijuana use have not been as effective on the adolescent population as intended.

PSYCHOMOTRICITY AND AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER

Autism spectrum disorder is considered to be a global problem, as it has no definitive treatment, with unknown etiology, complexity of diagnosis and increasing spread throughout the world and in Algeria in particular.The latest version of the DSM-5 is based on two diagnostic criteria: lack of communication and social interaction; stereotyped behavior and restricted interests. Diagnosis is carried out by a team of specialists by collecting information, applying tests, and establishing a differential diagnosis. The efforts of specialists and researchers have contributed to the development of ways to take care of children with this disorder, as it helps them develop their skills and increase their independence and integration into society. Among these therapeutic interventions, we find psychomotor therapy, as the subject of this research. Psychomotricity consists of a specific practice focusing on the body, with the aim of alleviating sensorimotor and psychomotor disorders which are sometimes very disabling. The technique of playing is widely used according to the principles of kinetic psychology. The purpos of this paper is to make autism, its diagnosis and intervention methods known and to prove the efficiency of psychomotor intervention by analyzing the scientific literature. The importance of this topic lies in its enrichment of the literary balance, given its treatment of an important issue for society, and it’s interesting on the psychomotor intervention that is highly relied upon in the centers of care for children with autism, and an important return in terms of the development of their abilities.

Modernization of Governance System and Governance Capability of State-Owned Enterprises

State-owned enterprises are important pillars of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and the modernization of their governance system and governance capacity is an important part of the modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity. Through case study and specific practice, this paper carries out an in-depth thinking and serious analysis on how to promote the modernization of the governance system and governance capacity of state-owned enterprises under the new situation and requirements. This paper puts forward three kinds of management and control mechanism to enhance core competence in addition to the specific implementation path by using digital governance means.

The Importance of Biological Maturation and Years of Practice in Kayaking Performance

Previous canoe sprint studies evaluated the best paddlers of their categories. This investigation aimed to identify the importance of biological maturation and athletes’ experience in kayaking performance and observe possible differences regarding anthropometry, years of practice, and performance. Eighty under 14 years of age (U14) and fifty under 16 years of age (U16) kayakers aged 13.40 ± 0.54 and 15.25 ± 0.61 years were evaluated. Kayakers were assessed for anthropometry (body mass (kg); stretch stature (cm); and sitting height (cm)), performance (time at 3000 m for U14 and 5000 m for U16 kayakers), and somatic maturation (predicted adult height (PAH) and maturity offset). In the U14 kayakers, years of practice, sitting height, and maturity offset showed significant differences (p < 0.05) between the Top10 and Middle, and Middle and Bottom10 performance times. Significantly higher (p < 0.05) sitting heights were identified between the Top10 and Middle U16 kayakers. Significant differences (p < 0.05) were observed for maturity offset and PAH% between the Top10 and Middle groups compared to the Bottom10 group. In conclusion, this research shows differences in the maturity status of young U14 and U16 kayakers, identifying that the more biologically mature individuals, with more years of specific practice, achieved better performances.