Studies of pear-shaped nuclei using accelerated radioactive beams.

There is strong circumstantial evidence that certain heavy, unstable atomic nuclei are 'octupole deformed', that is, distorted into a pear shape. This contrasts with the more prevalent rugby-ball shape of nuclei with reflection-symmetric, quadrupole deformations. The elusive octupole deformed nuclei are of importance for nuclear structure theory, and also in searches for physics beyond the standard model; any measurable electric-dipole moment (a signature of the latter) is expected to be amplified in such nuclei. Here we determine electric octupole transition strengths (a direct measure of octupole correlations) for short-lived isotopes of radon and radium. Coulomb excitation experiments were performed using accelerated beams of heavy, radioactive ions. Our data on (220)Rn and (224)Ra show clear evidence for stronger octupole deformation in the latter. The results enable discrimination between differing theoretical approaches to octupole correlations, and help to constrain suitable candidates for experimental studies of atomic electric-dipole moments that might reveal extensions to the standard model.

Children with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities: the effects of functional movement activities.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of functional movement activities within the MOVE (Mobility Opportunities Via Education) curriculum on the independence of children with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities. SUBJECTS: Forty-four children with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities. SETTING: Centres for special education. DESIGN: A quasi-experimental pretest-posttest with control group design. INTERVENTION: The children in the control group (n=12) participated in the regular programme at the centre of special education. The children within the experimental group (n=32) were additionally supported by the MOVE curriculum. METHOD: Both group comparisons and individual analyses were conducted. RESULTS: The level of independence of the experimental group increased significantly in performing movement skills; the control group did not increase significantly. At an individual level, 20 children (63%) of the experimental group improved in comparison with the control group, in which four children (33%) improved. CONCLUSION: Results showed that the children receiving functionally focused activities achieved the greatest improvements in independence when performing movement activities.

Movement skill assessment in children with profound multiple disabilities: a psychometric analysis of the top down motor milestone test.

OBJECTIVE: To analyse the psychometric properties of the Top Down Motor Milestone Test (TDMMT), an internationally used instrument in the planning and evaluation of movement-oriented interventions. SETTING: Centres for special education in the Netherlands. SUBJECTS: Children with profound multiple disabilities. METHODS: Validity, reliability and utility of the TDMMT were evaluated. Validity was assessed by conducting a principal component analysis. Reliability was determined by evaluating the internal consistency, test-retest and inter-rater reliability. With regard to utility, the hierarchical item ordering was evaluated with a Mokken scale analysis. Inter-item and item-rest correlations were calculated to confirm the allocation of the items in the TDMMT. RESULTS: Principal component analysis did not support the presence of three underlying factors. The internal consistency was high and test-retest and inter-rater reliability varied from moderate to perfect. Scale analysis showed that the subscales of the TDMMT are strong one-dimensional scales with good internal consistency, however, the order of the items could only partly be confirmed as well as the allocation of the items into four levels of functioning. CONCLUSION: The reliability of the TDMMT is good, but validity is moderate. Results indicate that adaptations to the structure of the TDMMT should be made when used for children with profound multiple disabilities. Further psychometric evaluation of the TDMMT is necessary.

Effectiveness of neuromotor task training for children with developmental coordination disorder: a pilot study.

The aim of this pilot study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a Neuromotor Task Training (NTT), recently developed for the treatment of children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) by pediatric physical therapists in the Netherlands. NTT is a task-oriented treatment program based upon recent insights from motor control and motor learning research. Ten children with DCD (intervention group) were tested before and after 9 and 18 treatment sessions on the Movement ABC and a dysgraphia scale in order to measure the effectiveness of treatment on gross and fine motor skills in general and handwriting in particular. Five children (no-treatment control group) were tested twice with a time lag of nine weeks on the Movement ABC in order to measure spontaneous improvement. No improvement was measured for the children in the no-treatment control group, whereas a significant improvement was found for children in the intervention group for both quality of handwriting and performance on the Movement ABC after 18 treatment sessions.

Pitfalls in effectiveness research: a comparative analysis of treatment goals and outcome measures in stroke rehabilitation.

PROBLEM: There is a great diversity of movement therapies in stroke rehabilitation, each of which is treated as a more or less independent system. OBJECTIVE: To articulate pitfalls in effectiveness research that has been employed to reduce the number of different forms of treatment. METHODS: The contents of treatment goals and outcome measures in clinical and scientific texts on stroke rehabilitation were analysed and contrasted in order to uncover discrepancies. ISSUES: The main issue is that theory, and conceptualization of therapy play a diminished role in treatment effectiveness research, which may hinder the interpretation of data. The notion that the methodological and statistical tools, if correctly applied, provide researchers with the distance that is thought to be necessary for an objective judgement will be challenged. CONCLUSION: The analyses indicate that although scientifically credible measurement tools may be neutral with regard to the user, they are not necessarily neutral with regard to the therapies being compared in effectiveness research.