Development and Psychometric Examination of a New Social Competence Outcome Measure for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: The Observational Social Competence Assessment.

Current assessments of social competence for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are mostly designed for screening or diagnosis, not for measuring outcomes. This study aimed to develop a professional-administrated outcome measure, the Observational Social Competence Assessment (OSCA), and examine its psychometric properties. The OSCA was constructed based on a multidimensional view of social competence (i.

Efficacy of Motor Interventions on Functional Performance Among Preschool Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.

Importance: Motor ability plays an important role in overall developmental profiles. Preschool children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are at risk of motor skills deficits and delays. However, evidence of the efficacy of different motor interventions for the identification of optimal treatment types is lacking, especially for preschool children with ASD.

Does Botulinum Toxin Injection Exacerbate Sarcopenia and Bone Mass in Individuals With Cerebral Palsy?

Background: Botulinum toxin (BoNT) causes sarcopenia and low bone mass in animal studies. Whether such effect exists in children and adolescents with spastic cerebral palsy (CP) is not clear yet. To investigate the influences of BoNT on grip strength (GS), skeletal muscle mass, and bone mineral density (BMD) in children and adolescents with spastic CP, we conducted this uncontrolled longitudinal study.

Cognitive Predictors of Social Interaction in Daily Contexts Among Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Importance: Theory of mind (ToM) and executive function (EF) are often used to explain social interaction deficits in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), but no behavioral studies have specifically examined their relationship.

Objective: To investigate the cognitive correlates of social interaction in daily contexts by ToM as well as cool and hot EFs among children with ASD.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

A Touch-Observation and Task-Based Mirror Therapy Protocol to Improve Sensorimotor Control and Functional Capability of Hands for Patients With Peripheral Nerve Injury.

Importance: To develop a practical program in the early phase after nerve repair for more rapid return of function.

Objective: To investigate the effects of touch-observation and task-based mirror therapy on the sensorimotor outcomes of patients with nerve repair.

Design: An assessor-blinded study with a randomized controlled design.

Effects of the Surface Texture and Weight of a Pinch Apparatus on the Reliability and Validity of a Hand Sensorimotor Control Assessment.

Objectives: To investigate the reliability and validity of a modified pinch apparatus devised with 3 surface textures and 2 different weights for clinical application.

Design: Case-controlled study.

Setting: A university hospital.

Impacts of Sensation, Perception, and Motor Abilities of the Ipsilesional Upper Limb on Hand Functions in Unilateral Stroke: Quantifications From Biomechanical and Functional Perspectives.

Background: The presence of subtle losses in hand dexterity after stroke affects the regaining of independence with regard to activities of daily living. Therefore, awareness of ipsilesional upper extremity (UE) function may be of importance when developing a comprehensive rehabilitation program. However, current hand function tests seem to be unable to identify asymptomatic UE impairments.

Determining the functional sensibility of the hand in patients with peripheral nerve repair: Feasibility of using a novel manual tactile test for monitoring the progression of nerve regeneration.

Study Design: Case-controlled cohort study.

Introduction: Sensory function is difficult to observe during nerve regeneration processes. Traditional sensory tests are limited to identifying the level of functioning hand sensation for sensory stimulus is given passively to the cutaneous surface of the hand.

Manual Tactile Test Predicts Sensorimotor Control Capability of Hands for Patients With Peripheral Nerve Injury.

Objectives: To comprehend the merits of a Manual Tactile Test (MTT) in assessing hand sensorimotor functions by exploring the relations among 3 subtests along with the precision pinch performances for patients with peripheral nerve injuries (PNIs); and to understand the accuracy of the MTT by constructing the sensitivity and specificity of the test for patients with PNI.

Design: Case-control study.

Setting: Hospital and local community.

Downregulated CXCL12 expression in mesenchymal stem cells associated with severe aplastic anemia in children.

The mechanisms of idiopathic severe aplastic anemia (SAA) in children are not completely understood. Insufficiency of the bone marrow microenvironment, in which mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are an important element, can be a potential factor associated with hematopoietic impairment. In the current study, we studied whether aberrant gene expression could be found in MSCs from children with SAA.

Visual feedback and target size effects on reach-to-grasp tasks in children with autism.

This study explores the effects of visual condition and target size during four reach-to-grasp tasks between autistic children and healthy controls. Twenty children with autism and 20 healthy controls participated in the study. Qualisys motion capture system and kinematic measures were used to record movement.

Extracts of Koelreuteria henryi Dummer induce apoptosis and autophagy by inhibiting dihydrodiol dehydrogenase, thus enhancing anticancer effects.

Dihydrodiol dehydrogenase (DDH) is frequently detected in cancer cells, and its overexpression correlates with drug resistance, the downregulation of DNA repair mechanisms, increased frequency of tumor recurrence, cancer cell metastasis and poor prognosis. The silencing of DDH expression using siRNA, on the other hand, reduces drug resistance and cancer cell mobility. These data suggest that DDH may be an oncogene-related protein.

Expression of EBV-encoded oncogenes and EBV-like virions in multiple canine tumors.

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a ubiquitous human oncovirus. Previous studies by us and others have indicated that pet dogs frequently encounter EBV or EBV-related viral infection. In this study, we explored whether EBV is involved in canine malignancies in dogs.