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Aim: To explore the relationship between fatigue and performance of activities of daily living (ADL), use of assistive devices, home-help service and community mobility services in older clients with chronic heart failure. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study of 40 patients was performed using the Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory, the Staircase of ADL, Assessment of Motor and Process Skills and a demographic checklist. Results: We found high levels of general fatigue, physical fatigue and reduced activity. Greater fatigue was associated significantly with increased dependence and decreased quality of ADL, but not for shopping. Use of community mobility services and assistive devices was frequent and home help less frequent. Use of assistive devices and home help were associated significantly with greater fatigue, but not the use of community mobility services. Conclusions: Fatigue had a negative impact on ADL mainly from physical rather than from mental causes. Improved energy conservation strategies to reduce the consequences of fatigue are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was designed to evaluate whether the level of occupational engagement is related to life satisfaction among the oldest-old. The study was performed as part of a cross-sectional study of individuals 85 years and older in northern Sweden. The results revealed significant correlations between life satisfaction and engagement in both leisure and activities of daily living, and the effect sizes were interpreted as medium. This study adds some support to earlier findings that a higher level of task performance is related to a higher level of life satisfaction. The results also give some clinical evidence to support a client-centered approach that includes consideration of leisure tasks a person is motivated to perform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study elucidates the oldest olds' leisure repertoire and how this repertoire varies due to gender, where they live, and cognitive status. A validated 20-item leisure interest checklist with four subscales was used to measure leisure participation and investigate the leisure repertoire among participants. The oldest old were most likely to be interested in, perform, be motivated for, and perceive well-being from social activities, cultural activities, and TV/video/movies. The respondents were least likely to be interested in, perform, be motivated for, and perceive well-being from equipment sports and ball games. Some gender, geographic differences, and differences in cognitive status were found. The oldest old were more likely to endorse the same activities across all subscales of the checklist, but the linear magnitude varied across sub-scales. The relationships between performance and the other subscales suggested that a sense of engagement or participation is related to actual performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Walking and cycling to school are one source of regular physical activity. The aim of this two years observational study in pre-pubertal children was to evaluate if walking and cycling to school was associated with higher total amount of physical activity and larger gain in bone mineral content (BMC) and bone width than when going by car or bus.Methods: 133 boys and 99 girls aged 7-9 years were recruited to the Malmö Prospective Paediatric Osteoporosis Prevention (POP) study. BMC (g) was measured by dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) in total body, lumbar spine (L2-L4) and femoral neck (FN) at baseline and after 24 months. Bone width was measured in L2-L4 and FN. Skeletal changes in the 57 boys and 48 girls who consistently walked or cycled to school were compared with the 24 boys and 17 girls who consistently went by bus or car. All children remained in Tanner stage I. Level of everyday physical activity was estimated by accelerometers worn for four consecutive days and questionnaires. Comparisons were made by independent student's t-tests between means and Fisher's exact tests. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to adjust for group differences in age at baseline, duration of organized physical activity, annual changes in length and BMC or bone width if there were differences in these traits at baseline.Results: After the adjustments, there were no differences in the annual changes in BMC or bone width when comparing girls or boys who walked or cycled to school with those who went by car or bus. Furthermore, there were no differences in the levels of everyday physical activity objectively measured by accelerometers and all children reached above the by the United Kingdom Expert Consensus Group recommended level of 60 minutes moderate to vigorous physical activity per day.Conclusion: A physical active transportation to school for two years is in pre-pubertal children not associated with a higher accrual of BMC or bone width than a passive mode of transportation, possibly due to the fact that the everyday physical activity in these pre-pubertal children, independent of the mode of school transportation, was high. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work the crystallization behavior and thermal fractionation results of various ethylene–α-olefin copolymers (1-butene, 1-hexene, 1-octene, 1-tetradecene, 1-hexadecene, 1-octadecene, vinylcyclohexane as comonomer) were evaluated using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The step crystallization (SC) method was compared with the successive self-nucleation/annealing (SSA) method. SSA exhibited better separation than SC, especially in the low temperature regions, and provided results in a shorter time. The temperature-dependent crystallinities confirmed that for all more branched polymers a lot of material is present at ambient and can crystallize below that temperature. Significant differences in the temperature-dependent crystallinity curves existed between ZN- and metallocene-catalyzed copolymers at the same comonomer level (and comonomer type). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Aim: The purpose of this study was to describe clients and occupational therapists (OTs) experiences of a home-based programme focusing energy conservation strategies (ECS) for clients with chronic heart failure (CHF)., Methods: The programme, based on occupational therapy intervention process model (OTIPM), was led by two OTs in primary health care. Five clients' self-reported activities of daily living (ADL), fatigue, depression, goal achievements and use of ECS. Furthermore, both clients and OTs were individually interviewed., Results: The clients reported mild depression, severe fatigue and both increased and decreased independence in ADL. Most goals were achieved, and multiple ECS were used. Clients perceived that they worked collaboratively with the OTs and gained professional support to enhance daily activities. The OTs experienced knowledge and structure and found benefits from the programme, but doubted the possibility of using it in clinical practice., Conclusions: This study, despite having few participants, indicates that both the OTs and the clients experienced that the specialized programme gave structure to the OTs work, provided knowledge about CHF and valuable energy conservation strategies. The programme supported the OTs in working in a more comprehensive client-centred way. However, its feasibility needs to be further evaluated.

Aim: The aim of this study was to describe experiences of limitations in occupational performance and strategies for managing daily activities among the elderly with chronic heart failure (CHF)., Methods: Ten participants from primary healthcare with a confirmed diagnosis of CHF were interviewed. The interviews were analysed using qualitative content analysis., Results: The first theme, "Redefining an active life, aware of one's impaired body", was based on four sub-themes: realizing one's limited activity ability; striving to preserve an active life; focusing on meaningful activities; and changing vs. not changing habits and roles. The second theme, "Planning activities and balancing the degree of effort", was based on three sub-themes: limiting, organizing, and rationalizing activities; adjusting activities to today's ability; and using technology and adapting the environment., Conclusions: Elderly people with CHF are struggling with an ongoing process of occupational adaptation due to periodical physical decline and fluctuating day-to-day ability. This highlights a need for information on strategies from a holistic perspective and client-centred occupational therapy interventions.

Purpose: Children and adolescents are encouraged to maintain a habitually active lifestyle because of the known health benefits associated with regular physical activity, but there are some reports that a high level of activity may be associated with increased fracture risk. This prospective controlled exercise intervention study in prepubertal children evaluated if a school-based exercise intervention could enhance growth-related gains in muscle strength and muscular function without affecting fracture risk., Methods: Fractures were registered in 417 girls and 500 boys age 7-9 yr in the intervention and in 836 age-matched girls and 872 boys. The intervention included 40 min·d of school physical education for 2 yr, whereas the controls achieved 60 min·wk. In a subsample consisting of 49 girls and 80 boys in the intervention and 50 girls and 53 boys in the control group, body composition was measured by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry, muscle strength by isokinetic peak torque (PT) of the knee extensors, and flexors at 60 and 180°·s by a computerized dynamometer and neuromuscular performance by vertical jump height., Results: The rate ratio (95% confidence interval) for children in the intervention group to sustain a fracture was 1.07 (0.66-1.68). The annual gain in knee extensor PT at 180°·s was significantly higher for both girls (P < 0.001) and boys (P < 0.01) in the intervention compared with the control group. Boys in the intervention group also had a greater annual gain in knee flexion PT at 180°·s (P < 0.001), and girls had a greater gain in vertical jump height (P < 0.05)., Conclusion: An increase in school-based physical education from 60 to 200 min·wk enhanced muscle strength in prepubertal children without affecting fracture risk.

Objective: The fact that different neurobehavioral impairments affect daily life task performance of clients with different neurological diagnoses currently restricts between-group comparisons in rehabilitation. The purpose of this study was to determine whether a single neurobehavioral impact scale could be constructed for use with different diagnostic groups., Methods and Results: Rasch analysis of 422 clients (diagnosed with CVA and dementia) demonstrated that 29 of 55 items from the A-ONE Neurobehavioral Scale could be used to construct a short-form, Common Scale., Conclusions: While the use of different and longer diagnostic-specific scales versions may be more useful clinically, the short-form, Common Scale has the potential to be used in research focusing on comparison of groups. Further research will be needed to validate the common, short version.

Background: Most prospective pediatric exercise intervention studies cover <1 year and use bone traits as surrogate end points for fractures. This prospective controlled exercise intervention study therefore followed not only skeletal development but also fracture incidence for 4 years., Methods: Fractures were prospectively registered in a cohort of children aged 7 to 9 years, 446 boys and 362 girls in the intervention group (2675 person-years) and 807 boys and 780 girls in the control group (5661 person-years). The intervention included 40 minutes per day of school physical education for 4 years whereas the controls had 60 minutes per week. In a subsample, 73 boys and 48 girls in the intervention and 52 boys and 48 girls in the control group, bone mineral content (g) and bone width (cm) were followed by means of dual-energy radiograph absorptiometry., Results: The rate ratio for fractures was 1.11. In the dual-energy radiograph absorptiometry-measured children, there were no group differences at baseline in age, anthropometrics, or bone traits. The mean annual gain in lumbar spine bone mineral content was 7.0% higher in girls and 3.3% higher in boys and in femoral neck width 1.7% higher in girls and 0.6% higher in boys in the intervention than in the control group., Conclusions: A population-based moderately intense 4-year exercise program in 7- to 9-year-old children increased bone mass and size without affecting the fracture risk.

Aim: The purpose of this study was to use a variety of methods to evaluate and cross-validate the reliability estimates of the quality of schoolwork performance measures in the School Version of the Assessment of Motor and Process Skills (School AMPS) (1)., Methods: Split-half reliability was estimated based on School AMPS data from 6 194 students who had performed at least two school AMPS tasks. Two different split-half methods were used: splitting the School AMPS items vertically and splitting them horizontally. The Rasch equivalent of Cronbach's alpha for the full School AMPS evaluation and standard error of measurement (SEm) were also considered., Results: All three methods yielded high reliability coefficient estimates (r ≥ 0.70) and overall SEm was low., Conclusions: From a practice perspective, the results of this study are of clinical importance as they provide evidence that occupational therapists can have confidence in the consistency of the School AMPS measures when they are used in the process of making decisions about individual students, planning interventions, and later performing follow-up evaluations to measure the outcome.