Child-Report Measures of Occupational Performance: A Systematic Review

Introduction

Improving occupational performance is a key service of occupational therapists and client-centred approach to care is central to clinical practice. As such it is important to comprehensively evaluate the quality of psychometric properties reported across measures of occupational performance; in order to guide assessment and treatment planning.

Objective

To systematically review the literature on the psychometric properties of child-report measures of occupational performance for children ages 2–18 years.

Methods

A systematic search of the following six electronic databases was conducted: CINAHL; PsycINFO; EMBASE; PubMed; the Health and Psychosocial Instruments (HAPI) database; and Google Scholar. The quality of the studies was evaluated against the COSMIN taxonomy of measurement properties and the overall quality of psychometric properties was evaluated using pre-set psychometric criteria.

Results

Fifteen articles and one manual were reviewed to assess the psychometric properties of the six measures–the PEGS, MMD, CAPE, PAC, COSA, and OSA- which met the inclusion criteria. Most of the measures had conducted good quality studies to evaluate the psychometric properties of measures (PEGS, CAPE, PAC, OSA); however, the quality of the studies for two of these measures was relatively weak (MMD, COSA). When integrating the quality of the psychometric properties of the measures with the quality of the studies, the PAC stood out as having superior psychometric qualities.

Conclusions

The overall quality of the psychometric properties of most measures was limited. There is a need for continuing research into the psychometric properties of child-report measures of occupational performance, and to revise and improve the psychometric properties of existing measures.     

Direct detection of N-H[...]N hydrogen bonds in biomolecules by NMR spectroscopy

A nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiment is described for the direct detection of N-H[...]N hydrogen bonds (H-bonds) in 15N isotope-labeled biomolecules. This quantitative HNN-COSY (correlation spectroscopy) experiment detects and quantifies electron-mediated scalar couplings across the H-bond (H-bond scalar couplings), which connect magnetically active (15)N nuclei of the H-bond donor and acceptor. Detectable H-bonds comprise the imino H-bonds in canonical Watson-Crick base pairs, many H-bonds in unusual nucleic acid base pairs and H-bonds between protein backbone or side-chain N-H donor and N acceptor moieties. Unlike other NMR observables, which provide only indirect evidence of the presence of H-bonds, the H-bond scalar couplings identify all partners of the H-bond, the donor, the donor proton and the acceptor in a single experiment. The size of the scalar couplings can be related to H-bond geometries and as a time average to H-bond dynamics. The time required to detect the H-bonds is typically less than 1 d at millimolar concentrations for samples of molecular weight < or = approximately 25 kDa. A C15N/13C-labeled potato spindle tuber viroid T1 RNA domain is used as an example to illustrate this procedure.     

Colonization of Flax Roots and Early Physiological Responses of Flax Cells Inoculated with Pathogenic and Nonpathogenic Strains of Fusarium oxysporum

Fusarium oxysporum includes nonpathogenic strains and pathogenic strains that can induce necrosis or tracheomycosis in plants. The objective of this study was to compare the abilities of a pathogenic strain (Foln3) and a nonpathogenic strain (Fo47) to colonize flax roots and to induce early physiological responses in flax cell culture suspensions. Both strains colonized the outer cortex of the root; however, plant defense reactions, i.e., the presence of wall appositions, osmiophilic material, and collapsed cells, were less frequent and less intense in a root colonized by Foln3 than by Fo47. Early physiological responses were measured in flax cell suspensions confronted with germinated microconidia of both strains. Both pathogenic (Foln3) and nonpathogenic strains (Fo47) triggered transient H₂O₂ production in the first few minutes of the interaction, but the nonpathogenic strain also induced a second burst 3 h postinoculation. Ca²⁺ influx was more intense in cells inoculated with Fo47 than in cells inoculated with Foln3. Similarly, alkalinization of the extracellular medium was higher with Fo47 than with Foln3. Inoculation of the fungi into flax cell suspensions induced cell death 10 to 20 h postinoculation, with a higher percentage of dead cells observed with Fo47 than with Foln3 beginning at 14 h. This is the first report showing that early physiological responses of flax cells can be used to distinguish pathogenic and nonpathogenic strains of the soil-borne fungus F. oxysporum.     

Recherches d'Histophysiologie comparée sur le pro- et le mésonéphros larvaires des anoures

Sans résumé     

DNA recognition by the brinker repressor--an extreme case of coupling between binding and folding

The Brinker (Brk) nuclear repressor is a major element of the Drosophila Decapentaplegic morphogen signaling pathway. Its N-terminal part has weak homology to the Antennapedia homeodomain and binds to GC-rich DNA sequences. We have investigated the conformation and dynamics of the N-terminal 101 amino acid residues of Brk in the absence and in the presence of cognate DNA by solution NMR spectroscopy. In the absence of DNA, Brk is unfolded and highly flexible throughout the entire backbone. Addition of cognate DNA induces the formation of a well-folded structure for residues R46 to R95. This structure consists of four helices forming a helix-turn-helix motif that differs from homeodomains, but has similarities to the Tc3 transposase, the Pax-6 Paired domain, and the human centromere-binding protein. The GC-rich DNA recognition can be explained by specific major groove hydrogen bonds from the N-terminal end of helix alpha3. The transition from a highly flexible, completely unfolded conformation in the absence of DNA to a well-formed structure in the complex presents a very extreme case of the "coupling of binding and folding" phenomenon.     

PrkC-mediated Phosphorylation of Overexpressed YvcK Protein Regulates PBP1 Protein Localization in Bacillus subtilis mreB Mutant Cells

The YvcK protein has been shown to be necessary for growth under gluconeogenic conditions in Bacillus subtilis. Amazingly, its overproduction rescues growth and morphology defects of the actin-like protein MreB deletion mutant by restoration of PBP1 localization. In this work, we observed that YvcK was phosphorylated at Thr-304 by the protein kinase PrkC and that phosphorylated YvcK was dephosphorylated by the cognate phosphatase PrpC. We show that neither substitution of this threonine with a constitutively phosphorylated mimicking glutamic acid residue or a phosphorylation-dead mimicking alanine residue nor deletion of prkC or prpC altered the ability of B. subtilis to grow under gluconeogenic conditions. However, we observed that a prpC mutant and a yvcK mutant were more sensitive to bacitracin compared with the WT strain. In addition, the bacitracin sensitivity of strains in which YvcK Thr-304 was replaced with either an alanine or a glutamic acid residue was also affected. We also analyzed rescue of the mreB mutant strain by overproduction of YvcK in which the phosphorylation site was substituted. We show that YvcK T304A overproduction did not rescue the mreB mutant aberrant morphology due to PBP1 mislocalization. The same observation was made in an mreB prkC double mutant overproducing YvcK. Altogether, these data show that YvcK may have two distinct functions: 1) in carbon source utilization independent of its phosphorylation level and 2) in cell wall biosynthesis and morphogenesis through its phosphorylation state.     

Celestial moderation of tropical seabird behavior

Most animals, including birds, have cyclic life histories and numerous studies generally conducted on captive animals have shown that photoperiod is the main factor influencing this periodicity. Moon cycles can also affect periodic behavior of birds. Few studies have investigated the influence of these environmental cues in natural settings, and particularly in tropical areas where the change in photoperiod is slight and some bird species keep cyclic behaviors. Using miniaturized light sensors, we simultaneously investigated under natural conditions the influence of photoperiod and moon phases on the migration dates and at-sea activity of a tropical seabird species, the Barau's petrel, throughout its annual cycle. Firstly, we found that birds consistently started their pre- and post-breeding migrations at precise dates corresponding in both cases to a day-duration of 12.5 hours, suggesting a strong influence of the photoperiod in the regulation of migration behavior. We also found that mean population arrival dates to the colony changed from year to year and they were influenced by moon phases. Returns at their colonies occurred around the last full moon of the austral winter, suggesting that moon cycle is used by birds to synchronize their arrival. Secondly, variations of day-time activity were sinusoidal and correlated to seasonal changes of daylength. We thus hypothesize that the photoperiod could directly affect the behavior of the birds at sea. Night-time at-sea activity exhibited a clear cycle of 29.2 days, suggesting that nocturnal foraging was highly regulated by moon phase, particularly during the non-breeding season. To our knowledge, this is the first study to document a mixed regulation of the behavior of a wild bird by photoperiod and moon phases throughout its annual cycle.     

Derivation of scenario-specific water quality guidelines for acid mine drainage in South Africa,using a risk-based approach

Acid mine drainage (AMD) continues to threaten water quality in many mining regions globally. Data paucity renders it challenging to inform appropriate water quality management strategies for a succinct scientific understanding of the effects of AMD on freshwater ecosystems. The current study investigated the effects of AMD collected from a defunct coalmine in Mpumalanga, South Africa, on freshwater ecosystems using a risk-based approach on five indigenous species, Adenophlebia auriculata, Burnupia stenochorias, Caridina nilotica, Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata and Oreochromis mossambicus in 2016. Species responded differently to AMD after 96 hours and 240 hours of exposure in static experimental test designs. Burnupia stenochorias was more sensitive to AMD after 96 and 240 hours of exposure, whereas O. mossambicus was tolerant during short-term exposure, but became more sensitive after 240 hours of exposure than the other species tested. The availability of metals in AMD was directly associated with dilution rate. Scenario-specific water quality guidelines for AMD have been derived as 0.122% for short-term and 0.014% for long-term exposure. These may form important indicative dilutions for other AMDs that do not match the scenarios of this study. The toxicity of AMD to a wide range of aquatic species, including field validations, requires further investigation.