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Children with developmental co-ordination disorder ( DCD) face evident motor difficulties in activities of daily living ( ADL). Assessment of their capacity in ADL is essential for diagnosis and intervention, in order to limit the daily consequences of the disorder. The aim of this study is to systematically review potential instruments for standardized and objective assessment of children's capacity in ADL, suited for children with DCD. As a first step, databases of MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL and PsycINFO were searched to identify studies that described instruments with potential for assessment of capacity in ADL. Second, instruments were included for review when two independent reviewers agreed that the instruments (1) are standardized and objective; (2) assess at activity level and comprise items that reflect ADL; and (3) are applicable to school-aged children that can move independently. Out of 1507 publications, 66 publications were selected, describing 39 instruments. Seven of these instruments were found to fulfil the criteria and were included for review: the Bruininks- Oseretsky Test of Motor Performance-2 ( BOT2); the Do- Eat ( Do- Eat); the Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2 ( MABC2); the school- Assessment of Motor and Process Skills (school AMPS); the Tuffts Assessment of Motor Performance ( TAMP); the Test of Gross Motor Development ( TGMD); and the Functional Independence Measure for Children ( WeeFIM). As a third step, for the included instruments, suitability for children with DCD was discussed based on the ADL comprised, ecological validity and other psychometric properties. We concluded that current instruments do not provide comprehensive and ecologically valid assessment of capacity in ADL as required for children with DCD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gas crossover is an unavoidable phenomenon in proton exchange fuel cell membranes. Nitrogen and oxygen from the cathode pass through the membrane to the anode, while hydrogen crosses from the anode to the cathode. The hydrogen crossover leads to a reduction in efficiency due to parasitic hydrogen consumption and mixed potentials on the cathode electrode. Furthermore it causes degradation effects and pinhole formation. Hence the hydrogen crossover represents a fundamental factor for the lifetime of a fuel cell and quantification of the crossover is a key factor for membrane qualification. In this article two in situ electrochemical techniques to evaluate the hydrogen crossover are described, cyclic voltammetry and potential step method. Both methods and the achieved results are compared to each other. Finally the potential step method is applied to evaluate the hydrogen crossover as a function of the anode pressure and the hydrogen permeability coefficients are determined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to evaluate neuromotor task training (NTT), a recently developed child-centred and task-oriented treatment programme for children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD). A treatment and a non-treatment control group of children with DCD were included. Children were selected if they scored below the 15th centile on the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (MABC). The children in the treatment group were recently referred for physiotherapy ( n=26; 20 males, 6 females; mean age 7y 2mo [SD 1y 3mo]). The parents of the non-treated children were concerned about their children's motor performance and responded to advertisements for free testing ( n=13; 10 males, 3 females; mean age 7y 2mo [SD 2y 1mo]). Before and after nine weekly 30-minute sessions of NTT or at least 9 weeks of no intervention, the MABC and the Test of Gross Motor Development - 2 (TGMD-2) were administered. Therapists reported per session on treatment goals and tasks trained. The results indicate that motor performance does not improve spontaneously and that NTT is effective. During the intervention period, only the treated group improved on the MABC and the TGMD-2. Children improved most on tasks similar to those trained. In older children with poorer motor patterns, NTT's treatment success was higher. The Child Behavior Checklist subscales withdrawn, thought problems, anxious/depressed, and delinquency were determinants of effects on motor patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We systematically reviewed papers published in English between 1994 and October 2015 on how postnatal weight gain and growth affect neurodevelopment and metabolic outcomes in term-born small-for-gestational-age (SGA) infants. Two randomised trials reported that enriched infant formulas that promoted early growth also increased fat mass, lean mass and blood pressure (BP), but had no effect on early neurocognitive outcomes. Meanwhile, 31 observational studies reported consistent positive associations between postnatal weight gain and growth with neurocognitive outcomes, adiposity, insulin resistance and BP., Conclusion: Few intervention studies exist, despite consistent positive associations between early growth and neurocognition in term-born SGA infants., (©2017 The Authors. Acta Paediatrica published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Foundation Acta Paediatrica.)