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Chronic heart failure (CHF) is a complex clinical syndrome, associated with frailty, higher fall rates, and frequent hospitalizations. Heart Failure (HF) and preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is defined as a condition where a patient with HF have a diagnosis of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) of ≥ 50%. The risk of HFpEF increases with age and is related to higher non-cardiovascular mortality. The aim of this study was to evaluate static balance and examine the effect of task difficulty on the discriminating power of balance control between patients with HFpEF (Patients with HFpEF) and their healthy controls. Moreover, the associations between static balance parameters, balance confidence, falls, lean muscle mass, and strength were assessed. Seventy two patients with HFpEF (mean age: 66.0 ± 11.6 years) and seventy two age- and gender-matched healthy individuals (mean age: 65.3 ± 9.5 years) participated in this study. Participants underwent a 30 s bilateral stance (BS) test and a 20 s Tandem-Romberg stance (TRS) on a force platform, evaluating the Range and Standard Deviation of Center of Pressure (COP) displacement parameters in both axes. Balance confidence was evaluated by the Activities-Specific Balance Confidence (ABC) Scale, and the number of falls during the last year was recorded. Lower limb strength was measured using an isokinetic dynamometer, isometric leg strength, and a Sit-to-Stand test. Bioelectrical impedance analysis was conducted to assess lean fat mass, lean fat mass index, and lean%. Patients with HFpEF presented with lower static balance in BS and TRS compared to healthy controls (p < 0.05), lower balance confidence by 21.5% (p < 0.05), and a higher incidence of falls by 72.9% (p < 0.05). BS was a better descriptor of the between-group difference. Furthermore, static balance, assessed in controlled lab conditions, was found to have little if no relationship to falls, strength, lean muscle mass, and balance confidence. Although no correlation was noted between the static balance parameters and falls, the fall rate was related to balance confidence, age, muscle strength, and lean fat.

This paper offers an in-depth exploration of the intricate relationship between environmental factors and autism spectrum disorder (ASD), with a special emphasis on seasonality. It reviews existing research, providing a comprehensive summary of findings and highlighting the multifaceted dimensions of several environmental factors influencing the etiology of ASD. The discussion encompasses various elements, including birth months, maternal health, dietary choices, and vitamin D deficiency, delving into the intricate interplay of seasonality with environmental influences such as viral infections and solar radiation. The present study raises essential questions regarding the timing of environmental influences and the factors contributing to the rising prevalence of ASD. Ultimately, it underscores the need for future epidemiological research to incorporate more extensive investigations of environmental risk factors and employ advanced statistical analyses. This comprehensive overview contributes to a deeper understanding of how environmental factors, particularly seasonality, may be linked to the occurrence of ASD and its increasing prevalence, recognizing the multifaceted and diverse nature of these interactions.

This study evaluates accelerometer performance of three new state of the art smartphones and focuses on accuracy. The motivating research question was whether accelerator accuracy obtained with these off-the-shelf modern smartphone accelerometers was or was not statistically different from that of a gold-standard reference system. We predicted that the accuracy of the three modern smartphone accelerometers in human movement data acquisition do not differ from that of the Vicon MX motion capture system. To test this prediction, we investigated the comparative performance of three different commercially available current generation smartphone accelerometers among themselves and to a gold-standard Vicon MX motion capture system. A single subject design was implemented for this study. Pearson’s correlation coefficients® were calculated to verify the validity of the smartphones’ accelerometer data against that of the Vicon MX motion capture system. The Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) was used to assess the smartphones’ accelerometer performance reliability compared to that of the Vicon MX motion capture system. Results demonstrated that (a) the tested smartphone accelerometers are valid and reliable devices for estimating accelerations and (b) there were not significant differences among the three current generation smartphones and the Vicon MX motion capture system’s mean acceleration data. This evidence indicates how well recent generation smartphone accelerometer sensors are capable of measuring human body motion. This study, which bridges a significant information gap between the accuracy of accelerometers measured close to production and their accuracy in actual smartphone research, should be interpreted within the confines of its scope, limitations and strengths. Further research is warranted to validate our arguments, suggestions, and results, since this is the first study on this topic.

It is recognized that gait analysis is a powerful tool used to capture human locomotion and quantify the related parameters. PODOSmart® insoles have been designed to provide accurate measurements for gait analysis. PODOSmart® insoles are lightweight, slim and cost-effective. A recent publication presented the characteristics and data concerning the validity of PODOSmart® insoles in gait analysis. In literature, there is still no evidence about the repeatability of PODOSmart® gait analysis system. Such evidence is essential in order to use this device in both research and clinical settings. The aim of the present study was to assess the repeatability of PODOSmart® system. In this context, it was hypothesized that the parameters of gait analysis captured by PODOSmart® would be repeatable. In a sample consisting of 22 healthy male adults, participants performed two walking trials on a six-meter walkway. The ICC values for 28 gait variables provided by PODOSmart® indicated good to excellent test-retest reliability, ranging from 0.802 to 0.997. The present findings confirm that PODOSmart® gait analysis insoles present excellent repeatability in gait analysis parameters. These results offer additional evidence regarding the reliability of this gait analysis tool.

The new smart insole PODOSmart®, is introduced as a new tool for gait analysis against high cost laboratory based equipment. PODOSmart® system measures walking profile and gait variables in real life conditions. PODOSmart® insoles consists of wireless sensors, can be fitted into any shoe and offer the ability to measure spatial, temporal, and kinematic gait parameters. The intelligent insoles feature several sensors that detect and capture foot movements and a microprocessor that calculates gait related biomechanical data. Gait analysis results are presented in PODOSmart® platform. This study aims to present the characteristics of this tool and to validate it comparing with a stereophotogrammetry-based system. Validation was performed by gait analysis for eleven healthy individuals on a six-meters walkway using both PODOSmart® and Vicon system. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) were calculated for gait parameters. ICC for the validation ranged from 0.313 to 0.990 in gait parameters. The highest ICC was observed in cadence, circumduction, walking speed, stride length and stride duration. PODOSmart® is a valid tool for gait analysis compared to the gold standard Vicon. As PODOSmart®, is a portable gait analysis tool with an affordable cost it can be a useful novel tool for gait analysis in healthy and pathological population.

School physical education offers an ideal venue to promote healthy habits. Motor creativity has been found to effectively increase children’s learning and attitude formation. The aim of the present study was to test for the effectiveness of an intervention promoting motor creativity through healthy lifestyle stimuli in the promotion of elementary children’s knowledge regarding health, as well as in the change of their attitudes about nutrition and exercise. One hundred twelve elementary school students participated in the study. Participants were assigned into the experimental (n = 58) and control (n = 54) groups. Students performed the TCAM and they were administered the Health Lifestyle Evaluation Instrument along with measures of attitudes towards healthy nutrition and exercise. Analyses of variance with repeated measures showed a significant increase of knowledge towards health in the intervention group. However no differences were found between the two groups regarding the attitudes towards healthy nutrition and exercise. The results provided useful information regarding the effect of motor creativity in the learning process in elementary schools.

Motor creativity has been positively associated with preschool children learning. The present study was set out to develop a motor creativity intervention using healthy lifestyle stimuli and test its efficacy in enhancing preschool children’s knowledge about health and changing their attitudes towards healthy nutrition and exercise. In Study 1, 101 preschool children were assigned into control and experimental groups. Children performed the Thinking Creatively in Action and Movement (TCAM) to measure motor creativity. The results of the repeated measures analysis of variance showed a significant increase in all dimensions of motor creativity in the experimental group. In Study 2, 138 preschool children were assigned into control and experimental groups. Children performed the TCAM, and completed the Health Lifestyle Evaluation Instrument and measures of attitudes towards healthy nutrition and exercise. The analysis of variance with repeated measures revealed a significant increase of knowledge towards health in the experimental group, but non-significant differences between the groups in the attitudes towards healthy nutrition and exercise. The findings provide valuable information about the effect of motor creativity in the learning process in kindergarten schools.