Playing at the Schoolyard: "The Who's, the What's and the How Long's" of Loose Parts.

Play has a key role in children psychomotor development, and the quality of play spaces can be a facilitator of the former. The physical properties of the environment, such as equipment or material available, can influence children's behavior. However, it is not clear how the provision of different loose parts impacts children's play patterns.

Influence of Additional Ankle Weights on Kinematic Variables of Late Preterm Infants Aged 3-4 Months.

The authors analyzed and compared the effect of additional weight on the spatiotemporal parameters of the kicking movement of late preterm and full-term infants. The experiment was divided into 4 conditions: training, baseline, weight, and postweight. In the W condition, a weight of one third the lower limb mass was added to the infant's ankle.

Palmar grasp behavior in full-term newborns in the first 72 hours of life.

Background: The palmar grasp behavior is one of the items of an infant's routine neurological tests. Its exacerbated presence after the fifth month of age or absence in the first day after birth is an important sign of neuro-sensorimotor disorders. This study aimed to describe the palmar grasp behavior of full-term newborns in the first 72 h of life.

Influence of additional weight on the frequency of kicks in infants with Down syndrome and infants with typical development.

Background: Infants with Down syndrome present with organic and neurological changes that may lead to a delay in the acquisition of motor skills such as kicking, a fundamental skill that is a precursor of gait and is influenced by intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Therefore, this movement should be taken into account in early physical therapy interventions in infants.

Objective: To analyze and to compare the effect of additional weight on the frequency of kicks in infants with Down syndrome and infants with typical development at 3 and 4 months of age.

Maximal respiratory pressure in healthy 20 to 89 year-old sedentary individuals of central São Paulo State.

Objectives: To evaluate respiratory muscle strength (RMS) in a sample composed exclusively of healthy sedentary individuals and to compare with predicted values, to investigate the relationship between maximal inspiratory pressure (MIP) and maximal expiratory pressure (MEP) and age, weight and height, and propose predictive equations of MIP and MEP for this population.

Methods: Subjects were 140 healthy and sedentary individuals: 70 males (55+/-20 years) and 70 females (54+/-21 years), separated into groups according to age. The RMS was obtained with an aneroid vacuum manometer (+/-300 cmH2O).

Prevalence of reduced respiratory muscle strength in institutionalized elderly people.

Context And Objectives: Respiratory muscle strength is relevant to the clinical situation of elderly patients, particularly those presenting with respiratory or cardiac diseases. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the respiratory muscle strength of institutionalized elderly women, compare this with predicted values for the Brazilian population and calculate the correlation with age and anthropometric characteristics.

Design And Setting: Cross-sectional study at the Department of Physiotherapy of Universidade Camilo Castelo Branco.