Causative factors and some consequences of dystocia were examined in 3923 parturitions among Hereford and Angus x Hereford crossbred two-year-old heifers. Fifty percent of the parturitions required some assistance. Minor assistance was required in 34.5% of the parturitions and major assistance involving use of a calf puller, in 15.1%. Caesarean section and foetotomy were rendered in 0.3% and .05% of the cases, respectively. Abnormal presentation at birth, which included leg back, head back, backwards, hiplock and breech, was observed in only 2.9% of the births and therefore is a minor contributor to dystocia. The major causes of dystocia were not specifically identified in this study. Sex of calf had a definite influence upon the degree of calving difficulty with male calves requiring more assistance in both minor and major assistance categories. Crossbred heifers had a higher percentage of unassisted births (62.4% vs 36.7%) than Hereford heifers. Ninety and eight-tenths percent of all calves born were alive at 30 days postpartum. Of the 9.2% that died, 6.2% died at birth or within 24 hours after birth. Losses were particularly heavy in this early period among those to whom major assistance had been given, with 71.5% of all deaths in this group being in this early period. Death loss rate was higher in this group throughout the 30 day postpartum interval with a total death loss of 38.6% as compared to a loss of 3.8% and 3.4% for the minor assisted and the unassisted groups, respectively. Among the kinds of abnormal presentations, death loss was greatest among breech presentations with a 66.7% loss. Backward presentation ranked next followed, in order, by head back, hiplock and leg back. Loss from leg back, 21% was relatively low. Increases in degree of severity of dystocia was accompanied by increases in time required to complete the birth process. Labor duration and sex of calf were correlated with male calves requiring a longer parturition than female calves, 104 minutes vs 88 minutes, respectively.

Objective. The research goal was to determine if behaviors indicative of sensory processing dysfunction are present in children with autism, if these behaviors can be grouped into distinctive patterns, and if there is a relationship between sensory processing dysfunction and self-care abilities. Method. Parents of 30 male children with autism ages 2–4 completed a Dunn Sensory Profile and a Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale. A one sample t-test and Spearman rho calculation were used for data analysis. Results. Sixty percent of the 3–4 year old group scored below negative 1 standard deviation on the Sensory Profile. This group also exhibited a pattern of sensory dysfunction in auditory, tactile, and oral systems. For the total group, there was a statistically significant correlation (rs = .646, p = .01) between the scores on Dunn Sensory Profile and Vineland and a statistically significant correlation (p = .05) between system threshold scores and Vineland. Conclusion. The data endorse a difference in sensory responsivity in children with autism which has a specific pattern. A relationship between sensory processing and the occupation of self-care is present. Response threshold is related to a child's self care performance. There is a developmental trend of increased atypical sensory behaviors in children with autism that may have clinical significance for the occupational therapist.

The thesis deals with the musical activities of two-year and three-year-old children in kindergarten. The theoretical part describes the characteristics of two-year and three-year-old children, the inclusion of two-year-old children in kindergarten, the importance of music and the child's musical development. It also deals with musical activities focusing on two-year and three-year-old children. The practical part of the work was focused on the research of particular musical activities in the kindergarten of the above mentioned age group from the point of view of the teachers and also on the musical environment in family. The research was conducted in the form of an interview with kindergarten teachers, a questionnaire survey among the parents of these children, and an analysis of songs and songbooks for the youngest children. The main objective was to find out how teachers perform musical activities with children, and what they see as the biggest differences between two- and three-year-old children. Next goal was to find out if parents work with children in this area and how. Whether the selected sample of songbooks contains songs of the appropriate range and pitch and whether they contain examples of possible instrumental and musical involvement of the children. Research has shown that most...