Upper limb impairments, process skills, and outcome in children with unilateral cerebral palsy.

Aim: To examine the relationships between upper limb impairments and independence in self-care (ISC) in children with unilateral cerebral palsy (CP).

Method: One hundred and eight children with unilateral CP (46 females, 62 males; mean age 8y 7mo, SD 3y 9mo) recruited from a population register were assessed for upper limb muscle power, spasticity, sensation, motor control, and process skills, and for ISC as the functional outcome using structural equation modelling.

Results: The model showed good fit indices and explained 90% of the variance in ISC.

Appendicular skeletal muscle in hospitalised hip-fracture patients: development and cross-validation of anthropometric prediction equations against dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry.

Background: accurate and practical assessment methods for assessing appendicular skeletal muscle (ASM) is of clinical importance for the diagnosis of geriatric syndromes associated with skeletal muscle wasting.

Objectives: the purpose of this study was to develop and cross-validate novel anthropometric prediction equations for the estimate of ASM in older adults post-surgical fixation for hip fracture, using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) as the criterion measure.

Subjects: community-dwelling older adults (aged ≥65 years) recently hospitalised for hip fracture.

Prevalence of faecal incontinence in community-dwelling older people in Bali, Indonesia.

Aim: To explore the prevalence rate of faecal incontinence in community-dwelling older people, associated factors, impact on quality of life and practices in managing faecal incontinence.

Method: Using a cross-sectional design, 600 older people aged 60+ were randomly selected from a population of 2916 in Bali, Indonesia using a simple random sampling technique. Three hundred and three participants were interviewed (response rate 51%).

A complementary approach to identifying and assessing the remediation potential of hydrocarbonoclastic bacteria.

The isolation and assessment of hydrocarbonoclastic bacteria often represents a key strategy in the bioremediation of hydrocarbon-contaminated sites. However the isolation and assessment of such bacteria is often a lengthy and expensive procedure. The aim of this study was to identify potential isolates for use in the remediation of hydrocarbon contaminated sites using a combination of selective isolation plating, the Biolog system and subsequent multivariate analyses.