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Background and aim Executive function (EF) impairment is common in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). EF strategies are considered effective in improving the therapeutic outcomes of children with ASD. This study primarily aimed to explore whether integrating EF strategies combined with regular occupational therapy intervention is more effective in improving daily life skills (DLS) and sensory integration/processing (SI/SP) skills than regular occupational therapy alone in children with ASD and secondarily aims to assess treatment outcomes on improving visual motor integration (VMI) skills. Methods A total of 17 participants (13 males, mean age 4.29 years, standard deviation 0.66) completed the study. Following the baseline assessments, the participants were randomly assigned to the treatment group (45-minute once-weekly individual occupational therapy plus EF strategies) or control group (45-minute once-weekly individual therapy sessions alone). All participants received one intervention per week for 14 weeks. All children were systematically evaluated using a pediatric functional independent measure (WeeFIM) and the Verbal Behavior Milestones Assessment and Placement Program (VB-MAPP) to assess DLS, the Short Sensory Profile 2 (SSP2) to assess SP/SI, and the Beery VMI test (Beery VMI) to assess VMI. Assessments were conducted at baseline, seven weeks, and 14 weeks of treatment. Results The analysis of the results between the treatment and control groups revealed that the treatment group had greater gains and significant differences in the mean values of both the WeeFIM and SSP2. In addition, notable distinctions were observed in the VB-MAPP transition subscale; although these differences did not reach statistical significance, they were clinically significant. Minimal differences were noted in the VMI between the two groups. Nevertheless, both groups showed statistically significant improvements across all outcome measures. Conclusions Our study provides preliminary evidence of the efficacy of EF strategies combined with regular occupational therapy for DLS, SP/SI, and VMI in children with ASD. The differences between the groups support further evaluation of the effectiveness of EF strategies for the next stage of a larger randomized clinical trial.
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INTRODUCTION: Selecting a prosthetic knee mechanism is an important part of transfemoral (TF) amputee rehabilitation. Prosthetic knee joint selection depends on the users' gait and their energy consumption. This study compares the feedback of transfemoral prosthesis users based on the prosthetic knee design self-reporting responses using the Prosthetic Evaluation Questionnaire (PEQ) outcome measure. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to assess the impact of using a microprocessor-controlled prosthetic knee (MCPK) compared with a non-microprocessor-controlled prosthetic knee (NMCPK); feedback on the amputee usage can improve the clinical decision for proper prosthetic knee joint selection. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study with a total of 76 adult unilateral transfemoral amputees classified into two groups. The participants in the first group (38) used the MCPK (Genium, Otto Bock, Minneapolis, MN, USA), and the participants in the second group (38) used the NMCPK (hydraulic and total knee joints). Enrolment was based on a sequence of appointments where all participants answered the PEQ, with different subscale questions including utility (UT), sounds (SO), appearance (AP), residual limb health (RL), frustration (FR), perceived response (PR), social burden (SB), ambulation (AM), and quality of life (QoL). PEQ was filled out during the follow-up appointments at the prosthetic clinic through a visual analog scale (VAS). All data entered into a database were analyzed. RESULT: The MCPK participants have significantly improved utility, appearance, ambulation, and total PEQ score, the same results as the male participants. Middle-adulthood (25-40 years) MCPK participants have a significant p-value in the score of utility, frustration, ambulation, and total PEQ score compared to early-adulthood (18-24 years) and late-adulthood (41-60 years) participants. Also, there was a significant improvement in the p-value in ambulation scores in participants using MCPK with amputations caused by diseases compared to amputations caused by trauma and congenital cause. CONCLUSION: Transfemoral amputee prosthesis utility, natural gait, and ambulation improved when using MCPK compared to when using NMCPK during prosthetic rehabilitation.
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Background: Early detection of high-risk people for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) using a simple, non-invasive and cost-effective assessment tool helps to identify and prevent members of the community from developing this disease. Therefore, this study aims to translate the American Diabetes Association (ADA) diabetes risk test for Malaysians and then evaluate its validity. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted between March 2019 and April 2019. The instrument underwent forward and backward translation according to Behling and Law's technique. Content validity was performed by two experts and face validity was conducted among 35 convenience samples from Kota Bharu, Kelantan. Both were analysed using content validity index and face validity index, respectively. Results: All respondents were Malay, and had attained tertiary education with a mean (standard deviation [SD]) age of 20.63 (2.80) years old and BMI of 30.45 (5.99). Among the respondents, 57.1%, 94.3% and 80% were female, single and having a household income below RM1,500, respectively. The Malay translated instrument achieved high I-content validity index (CVI) [0.5-1.0] and S-CVI/Ave [0.93] as well as high I-face validity index (FVI) [0.86-0.97] and S-FVI/Ave [0.91] for understandability, and high I-FVI [0.77-0.91] and S-FVI/Ave [0.85] for clarity. Conclusion: The Malay version of the ADA diabetes risk test was found to be a valid survey instrument to be used for the Malaysian adult population.
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Consumption of soluble dietary fibre is recommended as part of a healthy diet. Evidence has shown that soluble dietary fibre slows gastric emptying, increases perceived satiety and plays a significant role in appetite regulation. This systematic review examined the effects of soluble dietary fibre using randomised-controlled trials (RCTs). Three different electronic databases were used, namely PubMed, Scopus® and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL). Effect size (Cohen's d) was calculated based on the intergroup mean difference and standard deviation (SD) followed by Cochran's Q and I² determination. The effect size was statistically pooled in the meta-analyses and presented as a forest plot. The risk of bias was high for each study as assessed using the Jadad scale. Meta-analysis of statistically pooled data for guar gum showed a sizeable effect on post-meal energy intake, followed by ß-glucan, alginate, polydextrose and pectin, with pooled effect sizes of -0.90, -0.44, -0.42, -0.36 and -0.26, respectively. Guar gum (5 g) effectively reduced energy intake when prepared in milk beverages compared with control milk (p < 0.001). Alginate, when prepared in liquid (5 g) or solid (9 g) meals, effectively reduced energy intake compared with control (p < 0.001). A high dose of polydextrose (25 g) prepared in liquid meal form significantly reduced energy intake (p = 0.01). This study suggests that soluble fibres are not all created equal. Further interventional studies are needed to determine whether combinations of these soluble fibres might have greater effects than individual fibres per se.
