MSc Physiotherapy, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, 2009. / As the medical world advances, there is an ever increasing survival rate of children that are born prematurely and of a low birth weight. For this reason more and more research is being done to investigate the consequences of being born pre-term and underweight. Research has shown that children who are born prematurely may show signs of developmental delay later on in life (Johnson, 2007). Motor development has been shown to be more affected by prematurity than any other causative factor of prematurity (Goyen and Lui, 2002). The main aim of the study was to establish the differences in global development between pre-term and full-term infants at eighteen months. The Bayley Scales of Infant Development II (BSID II) were used to determine performance in both the pre-term and the full-term group. These results were statistically analysed in greater detail in the mental and the motor section. The Mental and Psychomotor Developmental Indices (MDI and PDI) of the BSID II were used to determine the extent of the mental and motor delays in this sample. The Household Economic and Social Status Index (HESSI) was used in order to ascertain if the socioeconomic status of a family had any bearing on the development of the child in both the mental and the motor categories. This was statistically analysed. The socio-economic factors assessed in this study did not show any statistical significance but did confirm that these children come from similar backgrounds. The results of this study showed that there is a delay in the pre-term group when compared with the full-term group. The mean MDI for the full-term group was 105.25, this is compared with the pre-term group of 81.9, which is statistically significant (p<0.001). The PDI for the full-term group showed a mean score of 109.6. The mean score for the pre-term group was 86.8. This also showed a statistical significance (p<0.001). The pre-term infants in this study showed a significant delay both in the mental and the motor domains. The cognitive delays may be linked to an under-developed corpus callosum due to the premature birth. The motor delays may be caused due to a decreased motor control and developmental dyspraxia. Infants that are born prematurely are at a higher risk to suffer from developmental delays in the cognitive, language and the motor developmental domains. This study confirms what has been found in previous studies showing cognitive development to be the developmental domain most affected by prematurity. The results of this study are important as they support policy change to ensure that these children are followed-up to allow the at-risk children to reach their full potential.

Research report submitted to the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Science in Occupational Therapy, Johannesburg, June 2013 / The effectiveness of the Stetro pencil grip in 45 Grade 2 learners with handwriting difficulties was investigated. Monthly assessments considered descriptors including the position joints when writing, the position of the pencil in the hand, hand and arm movements, arm position and posture when writing as well as pencil grasp, the speed and quality of handwriting and tripod pinch strength. The experimental participants used a Stetro pencil grip for two months after which it was removed for one month. The control participants wrote without a pencil grip. Statistically significant improvement was found for the experimental group in the efficiency of their pencil grasps and their use of their fingers when writing. The quality and speed of writing and the pinch strength improved in both groups with the experimental group showing significant change in their index finger DIP position. The use of the Stetro pencil grip was effective in resolving inefficient pencil grasps in 70% of the experimental group.

Orientador: Eliane Mauerberg de Castro / Banca: José Lino Oliveira Bueno / Banca: Silvia Deutsch / Banca: Afonso Antonio Machado / Banca: Yara Aparecida Couto / Resumo: Diferentes experiências rítmicas podem influenciar funções psicoacústicas durante a reprodução de estruturas rítmicas. A periodicidade do pulso é um elemento básico, presente no ritmo musical, unido ao agrupamento de eventos sucessivos e que é essencial à compreensão e interpretação de estruturas de sequências sonoras. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar os efeitos da experiência musical no campo da dança e da música no padrão perceptivo-motor de reprodução de estruturas rítmicas monotônicas e musicais organizadas em tarefas com crescente complexidade. Foram selecionados previamente 60 adultos jovens para compor três grupos: 1) grupo com experiência com ritmo constituído por músicos (MU; n = 20); 2) grupo com experiência com ritmo constituído de dançarinos (DA; n = 20); e 3) grupo sem experiência profissional com música e dança (SE; n = 20). Os três grupos realizaram dois testes psicoacústicos rítmicos: o primeiro, um teste de percepção e reprodução de estruturas rítmicas monotônicas que consistia em ouvir a um estímulo rítmico e reproduzi-lo imediatamente, e o segundo, um teste de percepção e reprodução de estruturas rítmicas musicais, em que a sequência rítmica apresentada é reproduzida simultaneamente à escuta. As variáveis analisadas incluíram frequência de acertos (FA) para ambos os testes, regularidade temporal (RT) do tempo de início da resposta (s), duração (s) dos pulsos e pausas de cada estrutura rítmica para o teste monotônico. E no teste musical a variável sincronismo (SINC) foi verificada pela diferença relativa (%) entre a estrutura temporal do teste e a estrutura temporal da resposta. Os valores SINC foram subdivididos em desvio temporal do pulso e desvio temporal da pausa (componentes psicoacústicos rítmicos). Os resultados ... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: Different rhythmic experiences can influence psychoacoustic functions during the reproduction of rhythmic structures. The frequency of the pulse is a basic element in the musical rhythm and the grouping of successive events are essential to the understanding and interpretation of sound sequences. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of musical experience in the field of dance and music on perceptive-motor pattern of monotonic rhythm and musical rhythm with structures organized into tasks with increasing complexity. Sixty young adults were selected to comprise three groups: 1) group with experience with rhythm consisting of musicians (MU; n = 20); 2) group with experience with rhythm consisting of dancers (DA; n = 20); and 3) group without experience with music or dance (SE; n = 20). The three groups performed two tests: the first test of perception and reproduction of monotonic rhythmic structures that were responded immediately after their presentation; the second test required perception and synchronization of tapping to musical rhythmic structures. The variables we examined included frequency of correct performance (FA) in both tests, temporal regularity (RT) of initiation of the response, duration of pulses and pauses of each rhythmic structure for monotonic test. In the musical test timing (SINC) was verified using the relative difference (%) between the temporal structure of the test and the temporal structure of the response. The values SINC were subdivided into temporal deviation of pulse and pause (psychoacoustic rhythmic components). The results were divided in: 1- Effects of musical experience and nature of monotonic rhythm and musical rhythm tests on rhythm perception, 2 - Memory effects on temporal rhythmic regularity, and 3 - Perceptual-motor pattern of rhythm synchronization. The results showed differences between the groups with and without ... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Doutor

The development and experimental testing of the DUKW-Ling amphibious vehicle was performed during the first phase of an autonomous amphibious vehicle system development project. The DUKW-Ling is a 1/7th scale model of a cargo transport concept vehicle. The vehicle was tested in the three regions it is required to operate: land, sea and the surf zone region. Vehicle characteristics such as turning radii, yaw rate and velocities were found for different motor inputs on land and water. Also, because a vehicle navigating the surf zone is a new area of research that lacks experimental data the vehicle was tested in the breaking waves of the surf zone and its motion characteristics were found, as well as the drivetrain forces required to perform this transition. Maneuvering tests provided data that was used to estimate a model for future autonomous control efforts for both land and water navigation. / by Joseph G. Marquardt. / Thesis (M.S.C.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2012. / Includes bibliography.

The neurophysiological signals that are recorded in EEG (electroencephalography) and MEG (magnetoencephalography) originate from current flow perpendicular to the cortical surface due to the columnar organization of pyramidal cells in the cortical gray matter. These locations and directions have been used as anatomical constraints for dipolar sources in estimations of neural activity from MEG recordings. Here we extend anatomically constrained beamforming to EEG, which requires a more sophisticated forward model than MEG due to the blurring of the electric potential at tissue boundaries, but in contrast to MEG, EEG can account for both tangential and radial sources. Using computed tomography (CT) scans we create a realistic three-layer head model consisting of tessellated surfaces representing the tissue boundaries cerebrospinal fluid-skull, skull-scalp and scalp-air. The cortical gray matter surface, the anatomical constraint for the source dipoles, is extracted from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. EEG beamforming is implemented in a set of simulated data and compared for three different head models: single sphere, multi-shell sphere and realistic geometry multi-shell model that employs a boundary element method. Beamformer performance is also analyzed and evaluated for multiple dipoles and extended sources (patches). We show that using anatomical constraints with the beamforming algorithm greatly reduces computation time while increasing the spatial accuracy of the reconstructed sources of neural activity. Using the spatial Laplacian instead of the electric potential in combination with beamforming further improves the spatial resolution and allows for the detection of highly correlated sources. / by Vyacheslav Murzin. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2010. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2010. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Neste trabalho, pretendeu-se apresentar na primeira parte, uma revisão histórica e analítica sobre motores lineares para diversas aplicações, sobretudo em tração elétrica. Na segunda parte foram feitos o desenvolvimento de uma bancada de ensaios e a análise de um protótipo de motor de indução linear (MIL) em escala reduzida, acionado por um inversor de frequência variável. Com referência a aplicação de motores lineares em tração elétrica, são apresentados o estado da arte, as diferentes configurações, concepções de alta e baixa velocidades, vantagens e desvantagens da sua aplicação, as técnicas de levitação magnética, a situação brasileira e as perspectivas e tendências futuras. Na segunda parte, foi feita a análise do MIL de forma mais detalhada, sobre os princípios de funcionamento, modelos matemáticos existentes, principais efeitos que afetam o desempenho e sistemas de acionamento. Foi feita uma análise de vários modelos existentes, com destaque para o modelo bifásico DQ, desenvolvido por NONDAHL, capaz de simular o desempenho do MIL, tanto em regime permanente como em regime transitório. Foi projetada e montada uma bancada de ensaio dotada de uma instrumentação precisa que permitiu a monitoração e aquisição de dados dos parâmetros do MIL unilateral, acionado por um inversor de frequência variável, em condições variados de escorregamento e carga. A princípio, a bancada de ensaios foi concebida para permitir a análise de diversas configurações geométricas de montagem do MIL e a confrontação dos parâmetros de desempenho com os resultados experimentais. / Analitical and historical review on linear motors\'s applications, specially in electric traction was presented in the first part. A test facility for development of linear motors and an analysis of small prototype of linear induction motor driven by a frequency inverter was presented in the second part. The state of art concerning electric traction propelled by linear motors was discussed, as well as, different geometric configuration, advantages and disavantages in this application, high and low velocity systems, magnetic levitation systems, possibility of aplication in Brazil and future trends. An evaluation of linear induction motors was perfomed in the second part. Phenomena involved in the so-called end effect, skin effect, pelicular effect, transverse edge effect and mathematical models were investigated in this paper. Strong emphasis was put on the dq pole-by-pole model developed by NODAHL, that is capable of simulating both steady-state and transient behavior of linear induction motors. A linear induction motors test facility was designed and high precision instrumentation was implemented in order to verify the accuracy of parameters calculations.

A literatura demonstra que adultos planejam antecipadamente como apreender um objeto conforme o objetivo a ser cumprido, priorizando o Estado de Conforto ao Final da ação (ESC), mesmo que, para isso, precisem assumir uma posição biomecanicamente desajeitada no início do movimento. Esse estado de conforto parece ser mais evidente diante de uma maior demanda de precisão. Contudo, pouco é conhecido sobre o processo de desenvolvimento dessa capacidade, particularmente considerando as características de crianças com problemas motores. Para verificar essas questões foram conduzidos dois estudos. O primeiro objetivou investigar se a demanda de precisão afeta o planejamento de ações manipulativas de adultos. Participaram 46 universitários (22,0 ± 4,34 anos) em uma tarefa de apreensão de uma barra de madeira, transporte e encaixe em um de dois alvos laterais. A demanda de precisão foi manipulada pela extremidade da barra e o orifício dos alvos (cilíndrico ou semicilíndrico). Foi analisado o percentual do ESC, o tempo de reação (TR), o tempo de alcance (TALC), o tempo de encaixe (TENC) e o tempo de movimento (TM). O ESC foi confirmado nas duas condições da tarefa, e com isso, a hipótese da precisão não foi aceita. Não se observou diferença no TR, mas o TM foi menor nas ações confortáveis comparadas ao desconforto. Maior TR e TM foram observados na condição de maior demanda de precisão, demonstrando que foi necessário mais tempo de análise para a tomada de decisão correta. O objetivo do segundo estudo foi investigar se crianças com desenvolvimento típico (DT) e com Transtorno do Desenvolvimento da Coordenação (TDC) planejam uma tarefa manipulativa sobre duas condições diferentes de demanda de precisão. Participaram 63 crianças com DT e 32 crianças com TDC, que formaram os grupos de 5-6, 7-8 e 9-10 anos de idade, e realizaram a mesma tarefa do primeiro estudo. O ESC foi novamente confirmado nos três grupos etários das crianças com DT, mas somente aos 7-8 anos nas crianças com TDC. A hipótese da precisão se confirmou somente no grupo de crianças mais novas com DT. Foi notável que as crianças com TDC apresentaram todos os tempos superiores aos das crianças com DT, mas não houve diferenças entre os grupos no tempo para o planejamento (TR). Além disso, verificou-se que o ESC foi mais evidente no grupo de DT na condição de maior precisão. Assim, as crianças com TDC planejaram a ação menos frequentemente e parecem ter sido mais cautelosas na execução do movimento, mesmo com o requerimento de realizar \"o mais rápido possível\". Semelhantemente, os três grupos buscaram estratégias para resolver o problema da tarefa, mas somente as crianças com TDC melhoraram a capacidade de planejamento com a prática, constatada pela diminuição de erros e aumento no percentual de conforto nos blocos finais de tentativas. Nos dois estudos realizados, verificou-se que, além do planejamento prévio da ação, estratégias similares foram utilizadas pelos adultos e pelas crianças na resolução do problema, discutidas a partir da ideia de um planejamento on line e um comportamento parcialmente planejado / The literature shows that adults plan in advance how to grip an object according to the goal, prioritizing the End-State-Comfort of the action (ESC), even if, to this end, they have to assume a biomechanically awkward posture during the beginning of the movement. This comfort state may be most pronounced in the face of higher precision demand. However, little is known about the development of this skill, particularly considering the characteristics of children with motor problems. To verify these questions, two studies were conducted. The first study aimed to investigate if precision demand affects the manipulative action planning of adults. Forty-six graduate students (22,0 ± 4,34 years-old) participated in a task of grabbing a wooden bar, transport it and insert it in one of two laterals targets. The precision demand was manipulated with the bar extremity and the holes of the targets (cylindrical or semi cylindrical). The percentage of ESC, the reaction time (TR), reaching time (TALC), insertion time (TENC) and the movement time (TM) were analyzed. The ESC was confirmed in both task conditions, and thus, the precision hypothesis wasn\'t accepted. No difference in the TR was observed, but TM was lower in the comfortable actions when compared to those uncomfortable. Higher TR and TM were observed in the conditions of higher precision demand, showing that it was necessary more time for analysis during decision making. The objective of the second study was to investigate if children with typical development (DT) and with Developmental Coordination Disorder (TDC) plan a manipulative task on two different conditions of precision demand. Sixty-three children with DT and 32 children with TDC, divided in 5-6 years-old, 7-8 years-old and 9-10 years-old groups, participated in this study. The children performed the same task of the first study. The ESC was again confirmed in the three groups of children with DT, but only in the 7-8 years-old group in children with TDC. The precision hypothesis was confirmed only in the group of younger children with DT. Children with TDC had all time scores higher than DT children, but there was no difference between the groups in planning time (TR). The ESC was evident in the DT groups in conditions of higher precision demand. Thus, children with TDC planned the action less frequently and seem to have been more cautions in movement execution, even when asked to \"perform as soon as possible\". Similarly, the three groups used strategies to solve the problem of the task, but only children with TDC improved the capacity of planning with practice, as seen by a decrease of the errors and an increase in the percentage of comfort in the final trial blocks. In the two studies, it was observed that, in addition to the anticipatory action planning, similar strategies were used by adults and children to solve the problem, discussed from the idea of on line planning and partially planned behavior

Thesis advisor: Ellen Winner / Recent studies have shown differences between several structures in the brains of professional level musicians and non-musicians. Professional musicians form an ideal group to study changes in the human brain due to the unique abilities required of them. Since many musicians begin training at a young age, it is assumed that these differences are attributable to intense, early experience brought on by the cognitive and motor demands of music training. However, it remains to be seen whether these structural differences are due to changes brought on by experience or preexisting ones which draw children to music lessons. Using magnetic resonance images, I compared the size of the corpus callosums in two groups of children who ranged between the ages of five and seven, one just beginning music lessons and another not beginning music lessons. I also compared the groups in terms of their performance on a finger tapping test for differences in speed and accuracy. A second set of comparisons of callosal size was conducted between nine-to-eleven-year-olds who had been taking music lessons for at least a year and those who had not. Differences in the five-to-seven-year-olds were seen in the anterior corpus callosum corrected for brain volume between the musician and non-musician groups. Differences in accuracy of finger tapping were seen between the musicians and non musicians, as well as between those in the musician group who had received less than sixteen or twenty-five weeks of training versus those who had received less. These findings indicate that while musicians start out with at least one slightly larger measure of corpus callosum size, differences in finger skill tend to develop slowly. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2004. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Psychology. / Discipline: College Honors Program.

O Motor de Indução Linear (M.I.L.) vem, de longa data, sendo analisado e utilizado em aplicações normalmente de tração elétrica. No Brasil é estudado por poucas pessoas e o pioneirismo no assunto coube aos Professores Morency Arouca e Délio Pereira Guerrini, nos anos iniciais da década de 70, no Departamento de Engenharia Elétrica na EESC/USP. Assim, utilizando um protótipo construído pelo Professor Guerrini, desenvolveu-se este trabalho com vistas a complementar sua documentação. O trabalho consiste na Modelagem Matemática, Obtenção dos Parâmetros e Simulação Computacional, com algumas constatações experimentais. / The Linear lnduction Motor (L.l.M.) has been analyzed and applied specially in electrical traction. In Brazil, it was studied very well by a few persons, the pioneers of L.I.M. were the Professors Morency Arouca and Délio Pereira Guerrini, in the early 70\'s, at the Department of Electrical Engineering of the EESC/USP. Thus, this work has been developed on top of a reduced model of the L.I.M. that was built by Professor Guerrini. The objective of this work is to continue the analysis of the L.I.M. The work is comprised of three parts: Mathematical Modeling, Obtainment of the Parameters and the Computational Simulation, with some experimental checking.

Distonia é o terceiro distúrbio do movimento mais comum. Caracteriza-se por contrações musculares sustentadas ou intermitentes que podem gerar posturas anormais. Nos últimos anos, muitos estudos tentaram relacionar a presença de sintomas não motores como parte da manifestação clínica dessa patologia; no entanto, os resultados ainda são controversos. Objetivo: Avaliar a prevalência de sintomas não motores em pacientes com distonia focal ou segmentar idiopática e seu impacto na qualidade de vida. Métodos: Foram avaliados 80 pacientes e 80 controles sem patologias neurológicas pareados para sexo, idade e anos de estudo. Os pacientes foram questionados quanto ao tempo e gravidade de doença. Dados demográficos, comorbidades e medicações em uso foram coletados de ambos os grupos. Os sintomas não motores foram avaliados por meio de escalas validadas para a população brasileira. Foram avaliados sintomas de depressão, ansiedade, fobia social, apatia, sonolência diurna, qualidade do sono, cognição e dor, assim como qualidade de vida. Resultados: 80 pacientes foram avaliados: 28 com diagnóstico de blefaroespasmo ou distonia de Meige, 28 com distonia cervical ou orocervical e 24 com distonia de membro, em sua maioria, distonia tarefa-específica da escrita (cãibra do escrivão). Os pacientes apresentaram mais sintomas de depressão, ansiedade e apatia do que os controles, assim como uma pior qualidade do sono e mais queixas de dor. Ao avaliarmos pelo tipo de distonia, os pacientes com blefaroespasmo foram os mais sintomáticos com relação a esses sintomas. Qualidade de vida foi pior nos pacientes que nos controles. Conclusões: Pacientes com distonia, principalmente com blefaroespasmo, apresentaram maior prevalência de sintomas de depressão, de ansiedade, de apatia, pior qualidade do sono e dor. Esses sintomas causaram impacto negativo na qualidade de vida desses pacientes / Dystonia is the third most common movement disorder. It´s characterized by sustained or intermittent muscle contractions causing abnormal postures. In recent years many studies have sought to relate the presence of non-motor symptoms as part of clinical manifestation of this disease, however, results are still controversial. Objective: To assess prevalence of non-motor symptoms in patients with idiopathic focal or segmental dystonia and its impact in life quality. Methods: We evaluated 80 patients and 80 healthy controls matched for sex, age and years of schooling. Questions about the time at onset and severity of illness were asked to patients. Clinical and demographic data were noted in both groups. Non-motor symptoms were assessed using validated scales for Brazilian population. We assessed symptoms of depression, anxiety, social phobia, apathy, daytime sleepiness, sleep quality, cognition and pain, as well as quality of life. Results: We evaluated 80 patients: 28 with blepharospasm or Meige syndrome, 28 with cervical or orocervical dystonia and 24 with limb dystonia, mostly with specific writing task dystonia (writer´s cramp). Patients had more symptoms of depression, anxiety and apathy than controls, as well as worse quality of sleep and more pain complaints. Analysing by type of dystonia, patients with blepharospasm were the most symptomatic group in relation to these symptoms. Quality of life was worse in dystonic patients. Conclusions: Patients with dystonia, mainly those with blepharospasm, had a higher prevalence of symptoms of depression, anxiety, apathy, worse quality of sleep and pain. These symptoms had a negative impact on these patients\' quality of life