Goal attainment of children with cerebral palsy participating in multi-modal intervention.

Aim: We aimed to determine if there was a significant difference in the functional performance of family requested daily tasks by a heterogeneous group of children with cerebral palsy following a programme of neuro-developmental treatment and in comparison to a randomly control group.

Background: There are considerable challenges in conducting research into the functional performance of children with cerebral palsy. These include the highly heterogeneous nature of the population group, poor ecological and treatment fidelity, floor and ceiling effects in assessments, and insensitivity to the diverse functional needs and goals of children and families.

Leisure-Time Physical Activity in People With Spinal Cord Injury-Predictors of Exercise Guideline Adherence.

This study described leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) for people in Australia with spinal cord injury (SCI) and whether certain sociodemographic and psychosocial variables might be associated with LTPA uptake and guidelines adherence. The Physical Activity Scale for Individuals with a Physical Disability was used to measure the intensity and volume of LTPA of 1,579 individuals with SCI. Summary statistics were calculated for LTPA guidelines adherence.

Predicting Housing Related Delayed Discharge from Mental Health Inpatient Units: A Case Control Study.

The aims of this study were to identify factors that a) predict whether people experience housing related discharge delay (HRDD) from a mental health inpatient unit; and b) predict the length of HRDD for people affected. By identifying the groups most affected by HRDD, clinicians and policy makers can prioritise and address barriers to timely discharge at both an individual and systemic level. A case control study using a detailed medical record review was conducted in one Australian mental health service.

Unpacking the black box of voice therapy: A clinical application and revision of the Motor Learning Classification Framework (MLCF).

Purpose: Voice therapy is a complex behavioural intervention. Understanding its components is integral for continued advancement of voice therapy research, translation of evidence into the clinical setting and improved client care. The Motor Learning Classification Framework (MLCF) offers an excellent opportunity for increasing such knowledge, specifically in relation to identifying variables that affect motor learning (ML), an important mechanism hypothesised to bring about voice change during voice therapy.

Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis with bilateral optic neuritis following ChAdOx1 COVID-19 vaccination.

Background: Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) is a rare immune-mediated inflammatory demyelinating disease of the central nervous system. We report a case of ADEM presenting with bilateral optic neuritis temporally associated with the ChAdOx1 vaccine against SARS-COVID19 virus.

Case Presentation: A 36-year-old female presented with bilateral optic neuritis following her first dose of the ChAdOx1 vaccine.

Variations in breast cancer detection rates during mammogram-reading sessions: does experience have an impact?

Objectives: To examine whether radiologists' performances are consistent throughout a reading session and whether any changes in performance over the reading task differ depending on experience of the reader.

Methods: The performance of ten radiologists reading a test set of 60 mammographic cases without breaks was assessed using an ANOVA, 2 × 3 factorial design. Participants were categorized as more (≥2,000 mammogram readings per year) or less (<2,000 readings per year) experienced.

Carlos II of Spain, 'The Bewitched': cursed by aspartylglucosaminuria?

Carlos II of Spain (1661-1700), last of the Spanish Habsburgs, was known as The 'Bewitched' due to his multiple medical issues and feeble nature. He suffered from a range of ailments extending beyond the well-known Habsburg jaw, including developmental delay, intellectual disability, dysarthria, skeletal deformity, recurrent infections, epilepsy and infertility, among others. The Habsburg dynasty of Spain was characterised by marked inbreeding, and the male line died out with Carlos II.

Assessing physical activity and health-related quality of life in individuals with spinal cord injury: a national survey in Thailand.

Purpose: This study sought to; (i) investigate the proportion of Thai individuals with spinal cord injury (Thai-SCI) who met SCI-specific physical activity (PA) guidelines, (ii) describe PA and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of Thai-SCI across different sociodemographic strata, and, (iii) measure the variance in HRQOL associated with the intensity and volume of leisure-time physical activities (LTPA).

Methods: Two surveys, measuring PA and HRQOL, were used in this study. Descriptive analysis, parametric and non-parametric tests for comparing two or more groups were used to analyse the data.

MRI Patterns Distinguish AQP4 Antibody Positive Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder From Multiple Sclerosis.

Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) and multiple sclerosis (MS) are inflammatory diseases of the CNS. Overlap in the clinical and MRI features of NMOSD and MS means that distinguishing these conditions can be difficult. With the aim of evaluating the diagnostic utility of MRI features in distinguishing NMOSD from MS, we have conducted a cross-sectional analysis of imaging data and developed predictive models to distinguish the two conditions.

Physical activity recall assessment for people with spinal cord injury: Thai translation and cross-cultural adaptation.

Purpose: This research sought to translate and culturally adapt the content of the original Physical Activity Recall Assessment for People with Spinal Cord Injury (PARA-SCI) into the Thai language and to assess its inter- and intra-rater reliability.

Methods: This study was divided into two parts; (i) translation and cross-cultural adaptation, using a six-step guideline-based translation-validation process and (ii) reliability assessment of the translated survey tool using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs), Bland-Altman plots and one-way ANOVA analyses.

Results: The Thai-PARA-SCI was successfully developed.

Impact of Hours Awake and Hours Slept at Night on Radiologists' Mammogram Interpretations.

Objectives: To examine whether radiologists' mammogram reading performance varies according to how long they have been awake ("hours awake") and the number of hours they slept ("hours slept") the night before a reading session.

Methods: Retrospective data were retrieved from the BreastScreen Reader Assessment Strategy database. Malignancy-enriched mammographic readings were performed by 133 radiologists.

Relapse Patterns in NMOSD: Evidence for Earlier Occurrence of Optic Neuritis and Possible Seasonal Variation.

Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD) and multiple sclerosis (MS) show overlap in their clinical features. We performed an analysis of relapses with the aim of determining differences between the two conditions. Cases of NMOSD and age- and sex-matched MS controls were collected from across Australia and New Zealand.

Simulation can replace part of speech-language pathology placement time: A randomised controlled trial.

Purpose: Simulation is increasingly used within speech-language pathology education. Research has primarily explored students' perceptions of learning in simulation. The aim of this study was to determine if speech-language pathology students achieved a statistically-equivalent level of competency when a mean of 20% of placement time was replaced with simulation compared to placements without a simulation component.

Improved Conversation Outcomes After Social Communication Skills Training for People With Traumatic Brain Injury and Their Communication Partners: A Clinical Trial Investigating In-Person and Telehealth Delivery.

Purpose The aim of the study was to investigate the effectiveness of social communication skills training (TBIconneCT) for people with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and their communication partners, delivered in-person or via telehealth, on quality of conversations. Method This study is a clinical trial, including an in-person intervention group ( 17), a telehealth intervention group ( 19), and a historical control group ( 15). Participants were adults at least 6 months post moderate-to-severe TBI with social communication skills deficits and their usual communication partners.

The clinical profile of NMOSD in Australia and New Zealand.

Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD) are an inflammation of the central nervous system associated with autoantibodies to aquaporin-4. We have undertaken a clinic-based survey of NMOSD in the Australia and New Zealand populations with the aim of characterising the clinical features and establishing the value of recently revised diagnostic criteria. Cases of possible NMOSD and age and sex-matched controls with multiple sclerosis (MS) were referred from centres across Australia and New Zealand.

A Clinical Trial Investigating Telehealth and In-Person Social Communication Skills Training for People With Traumatic Brain Injury: Participant-Reported Communication Outcomes.

Objective: To investigate the efficacy of telehealth-based and in-person social communication skills training (TBIconneCT) for people with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) based on outcomes reported by the survivor and a close communication partner.

Setting: Australia. Two telehealth dyads were located outside Australia.

Patterns of cognitive strategy use common in children with reduced social competence derived from parent perceptions.

Introduction: Occupational therapists are increasingly being referred children who experience reduced social competence. Ineffective use of cognitive strategies during social interactions is known to contribute to reduced social competence in children who have difficulty learning. Little is known about the nature of social cognitive strategy use or how it may be observed in children during performance of school occupations.

The effect of mental health screening and referral on symptoms of depression among HIV positive outpatients in Vietnam: Findings from a three-month follow up study.

This study investigated whether screening for symptoms of mental disorders and referral to mental health services was associated with decreased depression symptoms among people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV) in Vietnam. Four hundred PLHIV (63.5% male, mean age 34.

Physical activity levels of allied health professionals working in a large Australian metropolitan health district - an observational study.

Purpose: The aim of this observational cross-sectional study was to determine if allied health professionals working in a large metropolitan health district were meeting the minimal physical activity (PA) recommendations and the proportion that occupational PA contributed to the recommended PA levels. A secondary aim was to determine possible relationships between self-report questionnaire measures of PA and PA measured by accelerometry.

Materials And Methods: Allied health professionals, working in the Sydney Local Health District (SLHD) in 2016-2017, completed the Active Australia Survey (AAS), Occupational Sitting and Physical Activity Questionnaire (OSPAQ), International Physical Activity Questionnaire Long form (IPAQ-L), and wore the ActiGraph GT1M accelerometer for 7 days consecutively.

Development and validation of a speech pathology-specific questionnaire for persons with multiple sclerosis (SMS).

: The aim of this study was to develop and validate the (SMS).: Forty-one items were generated through a literature review. Items were submitted to a preliminary psychometric validation process consisting of principal component analysis, internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and floor and ceiling effects using data from 164 participants.

Toward Improving Breast Cancer Imaging: Radiological Assessment of Propagation-Based Phase-Contrast CT Technology.

Rationale And Objectives: This study employs clinical/radiological evaluation in establishing the optimum imaging conditions for breast cancer imaging using the X-ray propagation-based phase-contrast tomography.

Materials And Methods: Two series of experiments were conducted and in total 161 synchrotron-based computed tomography (CT) reconstructions of one breast mastectomy specimen were produced at different imaging conditions. Imaging factors include sample-to-detector distance, X-ray energy, CT reconstruction method, phase retrieval algorithm applied to the CT projection images and maximum intensity projection.

Show and Tell: Video Modeling and Instruction Without Feedback Improves Performance but Is Not Sufficient for Retention of a Complex Voice Motor Skill.

Purpose: Modeling and instruction are frequent components of both traditional and technology-assisted voice therapy. This study investigated the value of video modeling and instruction in the early acquisition and short-term retention of a complex voice task without external feedback.

Method: Thirty participants were randomized to two conditions and trained to produce a vocal siren over 40 trials.

Symptoms of Depression in People Living with HIV in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam: Prevalence and Associated Factors.

This cross-sectional study investigated the prevalence and correlates of symptoms of depression among 400 people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV) from two HIV clinics in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Based on the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression scale, 36.5% of participants were classified as likely to be clinically depressed.