The Impacts of Three Educational Technologies on Algebraic Understanding in the Context of COVID-19.

The current study investigated the effectiveness of three distinct educational technologies-two game-based applications (From Here to There and DragonBox 12+) and two modes of online problem sets in ASSISTments (an Immediate Feedback condition and an Active Control condition with no immediate feedback) on Grade 7 students' algebraic knowledge. More than 3,600 Grade 7 students across nine in-person and one virtual schools within the same district were randomly assigned to one of the four conditions. Students received nine 30-minute intervention sessions from September 2020 to March 2021. Hierarchical linear modeling analyses of the final analytic sample (N = 1,850) showed significantly higher posttest scores for students who used From Here to There and DragonBox 12+ compared to the Active Control condition. No significant difference was found for the Immediate Feedback condition. The findings have implications for understanding how game-based applications can affect algebraic understanding, even within pandemic pressures on learning.

PACER Performance of Children Aged 11-14 With Attention-Deficit Hyperactive Disorder.

PURPOSE: The purposes of this study were to examine the performance on the progressive aerobic cardiovascular endurance run (PACER) test in children with and without attention-deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) over the course of a school year, and also to investigate the possible influence of age, sex, school sport participation, and body mass index on results. METHODS: Utilizing a repeated measures design, 892 middle school children aged 11-14 years (mean = 12.25, SD = 0.94) including 55 children with ADHD participated. While controlling for age, sex, sports participation, and body mass index, children were tested on the PACER 3 times during the school year. Procedures specified in the FITNESSGRAM test manual were explicitly followed. Hierarchical linear modeling was applied to analyze the data. RESULTS: Children with ADHD performed 8.6 fewer laps at intercept (baseline), than did healthy children without ADHD (t878 = -6.20, P < .001). However, no significant differences emerged for time (slope). In addition, no significant interactions were found for ADHD with age, sex, sports participation, or body mass index. CONCLUSION: A diagnosis of ADHD, independent of selected predictor variables, explained lower PACER performance.

Validation of the OptoGait System for Monitoring Treatment and Recovery of Post-Concussion Athletes.

OBJECTIVE: This study sought to investigate correlations between OptoGait motion analysis technology and 2 commonly used concussion assessment instruments, the Balance Evaluation Scoring System (BESS) and the Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing (ImPACT) computerized neurocognitive assessment software, to see if OptoGait might be a valid concussion assessment tool. METHODS: Twenty Division-1 college women varsity soccer players completed trials of 8 different conditions of the OptoGait test battery. Then participants completed the BESS and ImPACT tests. One hundred twenty-eight total spatiotemporal variables were recorded for each trial of OptoGait. Pearson's r correlations among these variables and BESS and ImPACT results were calculated, and pattern analysis was completed to evaluate for emergent patterns in the data. RESULTS: Correlations for the 8 OptoGait mean-score subtests were related to the balance double-leg foam test (BESS). Correlations for the 8 OptoGait mean-score subtests were related to the balance double-leg foam test (BESS), and correlations between OptoGait standard deviation measures and the balance tandem hard surface test (BESS) both indicated potentially significant patterns. No consistent patterns of correlation existed between the OptoGait variables and the ImPACT results. CONCLUSION: OptoGait conditions correlate at higher than predicted rates with subtests of the BESS instruments but not the ImPACT measures.

Predictors of Speed Using Off-Ice Measures of College Hockey Players.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between commonly employed dry-land performance tests and skating speed in male collegiate ice hockey players. Forty male National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I hockey players were tested on the following performance variables: vertical jump (VJ), standing broad jump, 40-yard dash, and maximal back squat (SQT). The subjects also performed 3 skating tests: the 90-ft forward acceleration test, the 90-ft backward acceleration test, and the 50-ft flying top speed test (F50). Pearson correlation coefficients were applied to compare the strength of association between each selected off-ice measure and each on-ice measure. Three multiple regression equations were then used to compare the weighted strengths of association between predictor and criterion variables. Only VJ showed significance in relation to skating speed (p = 0.011). These results suggest that meaningful performance testing in ice hockey players should occur mainly on the ice.

Performance by middle school children with and without asthma on the pacer.

Asthma is a chronic lung disease characterized by airway hyper-reactivity, inflammation, and obstruction. Asthma is also a leading cause of school absenteeism, and thus of concern to physical educators and health professionals. The purpose of this study was to assess aerobic performance by children with and without asthma. All participants were tested on the Progressive Aerobic Cardiovascular Endurance Run (PACER). Of particular interest was children's aerobic performance over an extended time, i.e., 15 months. Participants (Grades 4-8, N=809) were tested on the PACER three times during the school year with two follow-up tests during the succeeding school year. Among the 809 participants were 103 children with mild-moderate asthma. Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) was applied to analyze the data. Notwithstanding their lower scores at baseline (intercept), children with asthma increased their PACER scores at a rate more than double that of their peers without asthma. Although more than one PACER trial may be needed to accurately determine children's aerobic performance, repeated trials may be especially necessary for children with asthma. It was further concluded that the PACER is an effective tool with which to assess aerobic performance by middle school children with well-managed asthma.

Data linkage using probabilistic decision rules: a primer.

Electronic data linkage is increasingly being used by researchers and health professionals in the birth defects field as a tool for enhancing both research and service/care. However, in many cases, a common pre-existing ID number does not exist across different datasets, and common identifiers, such as names or dates of birth, which could be used to match records, may be known to contain errors or even legitimate differences over time. In such situations, probabilistic matching, which does not require that all identifying fields exactly agree in order for one to conclude that two records belong to the same individual, can be a valuable tool for improving data linkage. However, probabilistic matching is computationally complex and demanding, and not well understood by many who may wish to apply it in their work. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to provide an overview of one approach to probabilistic matching, including the step-by-step procedures involved in the calculation of indices corresponding to the likelihood that two records are a correct match. In addition, the use of multiple iterative protocols, in which several different matching strategies are used in order to maximize the number of linked records, is discussed. Finally, issues related to deduplication and verification of internal-consistency in the linked data set are also reviewed.

Partitioning the population attributable fraction for a sequential chain of effects.

BACKGROUND: While the population attributable fraction (PAF) provides potentially valuable information regarding the community-level effect of risk factors, significant limitations exist with current strategies for estimating a PAF in multiple risk factor models. These strategies can result in paradoxical or ambiguous measures of effect, or require unrealistic assumptions regarding variables in the model. A method is proposed in which an overall or total PAF across multiple risk factors is partitioned into components based upon a sequential ordering of effects. This method is applied to several hypothetical data sets in order to demonstrate its application and interpretation in diverse analytic situations. RESULTS: The proposed method is demonstrated to provide clear and interpretable measures of effect, even when risk factors are related/correlated and/or when risk factors interact. Furthermore, this strategy not only addresses, but also quantifies issues raised by other researchers who have noted the potential impact of population-shifts on population-level effects in multiple risk factor models. CONCLUSION: Combined with simple, unadjusted PAF estimates and an aggregate PAF based on all risk factors under consideration, the sequentially partitioned PAF provides valuable additional information regarding the process through which population rates of a disorder may be impacted. In addition, the approach can also be used to statistically control for confounding by other variables, while avoiding the potential pitfalls of attempting to separately differentiate direct and indirect effects.

Organizing population data into complex family pedigrees: application of a second-order data linkage to state birth defects registries.

Researchers and health officials are increasingly using electronic linkage of large-scale health data systems as a tool for assembling a comprehensive picture of birth defects at a population level. Current linkage and database techniques are limited to first-order linkage--linking information on a single individual in one database with information on that same individual in another database. For example, while current strategies may indicate whether a child with a certain birth defect also has a specific metabolic disorder or risk factor, they are unable to readily determine whether he or she also has any siblings or other relatives with the same pattern. In contrast, the current manuscript proposes a second-order linkage--one that organizes data so that individual-level data can readily be organized into families or extended family pedigrees across an entire population. The ability to link and organize population data into family pedigrees can have significant, broad impact upon health research and service delivery. This can lead to large-scale analysis of genetic factors and, with the linking of environmental data, the potential for large-scale studies of gene-environment interactions. In addition, it expands the potential for epidemiological research by readily allowing the examination of familial effects upon population rates of birth defects, and provides valuable information that can assist in applied public health. An example of a second order database incorporating an electronic birth defects registry is presented.

Developmental epidemiology: a review of three key measures of effect.

Provide readers with a background on 3 widely used epidemiological measures of effect: the risk ratio, the odds ratio, and the population attributable fraction (PAF). The risk ratio and the odds ratio each assess impact of a risk factor on an individual person. The PAF assesses the impact of a risk factor on the overall number of cases of a disorder in a community. Each of these measures is applied to a hypothetical example, and issues regarding their use are discussed.