Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Acoustic Signal Encoding In Children With Auditory Processing Disorders, Chris M. Allan

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Auditory perception has been shown to be a problem for some children with diagnosed learning, language, reading, or attention disorders. Evaluation of discrimination abilities, as part of an auditory processing test battery, has been recommended but few commercial tools are available for the audiologist to accomplish this task. Few studies have investigated signal feature encoding with children at risk for an auditory processing disorder (APD). The purpose of this project was to investigate signal encoding abilities in children suspected of having APD.

School-aged children, part of a clinical population referred for assessment of their auditory processing skills, participated in the …

Development Of A Cohesion Inventory For Children's Sport Teams, Luc J. Martin

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The general purpose of this dissertation was to develop an inventory designed to measure cohesion in children’s (ages 9-12) sport teams. To this end, three studies were conducted. In Study 1, children became active agents in the process of test construction. More specifically, children (N = 167) participated in focus groups and completed open-ended questionnaires in order to provide information on their perceptions of cohesion as well as motives for participating, continuing, and ceasing involvement on sport teams. Study 2 involved the use of the information obtained from Study 1 to develop potential items for the questionnaire. In addition, the …

Vitamin D Levels In Peanut Allergic Children, Adam Fowlie, Laura Kim, Trefford Simpson, Harold Kim

Department of Medicine Presentations

Background

The prevalence of peanut allergy is increasing. The reasons for this are not entirely known. A factor may be vitamin D (Vit D).

Methods

This study was performed in a referral allergist’s office in Ontario. Prospectively, all patients (<18 years old) with peanut allergy who were tested for peanut specific IgE (PN IgE) also had Vit D measured. All measurements were done between December 2010 and May 2011. The Vit D measure was 25-hydroxy vitamin D. Patients were divided into three groups: deficient (less than 25 nmol/L), insufficient (25-75 nmol/L) and sufficient (75-250 nmol/L). Vit D levels were compared to PN IgE, sex, age, body mass index (BMI) and other allergies.

Results

Fifty peanut allergic patients were included. The mean Vit D level of the patients was 73.8 nmol/L and the 95% confidence interval was 69.6 - 75.7 nmol/L. One patient (2%) had deficient and thirty-one (62%) of the patients had insufficient Vit D levels. Nineteen (38%) had Vit D levels in the sufficient range. There was no correlation between Vit …

The Rationality And Morality Of Dying Children, Barry Hoffmaster

C. Barry Hoffmaster

Formal reason is not adequate to explain how we think through real-life problems and make moral decisions about them. A far richer account of rationality is necessary. Interviews conducted with children who have leukemia, and who must figure out by themselves that they are dying and how they should handle that information, illustrate a range on informal tools that must be part of that account.

Beverage Consumption And Bmi Of British Schoolchildren Aged 9-13 Years, Tara Coppinger, Y. M. Jeanes, M. Mitchell, S. Reeves

Publications

Objective Adequate fluid intake has been well documented as important for health but whether it has adverse effects on overall energy and sugar intakes remains under debate. Many dietary studies continue to refrain from reporting on beverage consumption, which the present study aimed to address. Design A cross-sectional survey investigated self-reported measures of dietary intake and anthropometric measurements. Setting Primary and secondary schools in south-west London, UK. Subjects Boys and girls (n 248) aged 9-13 years. Results Boys consumed 10 % and girls consumed 9 % of their daily energy intake from beverages and most children had total sugar intakes …

Zinc Supplementation As An Adjunct To Antibiotics In The Treatment Of Pneumonia In Children 2 To 59 Months Of Age, Batool A. Haider, Zohra S. Lassi, Amina Ahmed, Zulfiqar Ahmed Bhutta

Woman and Child Health

Background:Diarrhoeal disorders and acute respiratory infections (ARIs), especially pneumonia, are the most common causes of death in low-income countries. Studies evaluating the impact of zinc supplementation as an adjunct in the management of pneumonia are limited and have shown variable results.
Objectives: To evaluate zinc supplementation, as an adjunct to antibiotics, in the treatment (clinical recovery) of pneumonia in children aged two to 59 months.
Search strategy: We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (The Cochrane Library 2011, Issue 1), which contains the Cochrane Acute Respiratory Infections (ARI) Group's and the Cochrane Infectious Diseases Group's Specialised …

Association Between Caries, Obesity And Insulin Resistance In Mexican Adolescents, Juan Pablo Loyola-Rodgriguez, Carlos Villa-Chavez, Nuria Patiño-Marin, Celia Aradillas-Garcia, Cesar Gonzalez, Esperanza De La Cruz-Mendoza

School of Dentistry Faculty Research and Publications

Aim: To determine the association among dental caries, obesity and insulin resistance in Mexican adolescents. Methods: Body Mass Index, obesity (OB) blood pressure, insulin level, insulin resistance (IR), triglycerides level, serum HDL-cholesterol (cHDL), DMFT index and salivary flow were measured. Results: Anthropometric measures showed a significant statistical difference (p < 0.05). Insulin level was 8.98 for healthy subjects, whereas for OB-IR group was 25.35, there was a statistical significant difference (p < 0.05). Triglycerides level was 88.50 for healthy subjects and 169.40 mg/dL for OB-IR; cHDL was 52.88 for healthy and 41.82 mg/dL for OB-IR group, both showed a statistically significant difference (p < 0.05). Salivary flow was 4.30 for healthy and for OB-IR group was 5.48 ml/min showed a significant statistical difference (p < 0.05). DMFT index was 3.02 for healthy and for OB-IR adolescents was 4.78, showed a significant statistical difference (p < 0.05). The caries component of DMFT index was 1.84 for healthy and was 3.52 for OB-IR adolescents, showed a significant statistical difference (p < 0.05). According to the multivariate analysis, DMFT (OR=3.10; IC95%=0.20-1.02, p=0.042) and decay (OR=3.30; IC95%=0.19-1.0, p=0.011) were associated with subjects with OB-IR. Conclusion: OB-IR Mexican adolescents showed a positive association with DMFT.

Associations Of American Indian Children's Screen-Time Behavior With Parental Television Behavior, Parental Perceptions Of Children's Screen Time, And Media-Related Resources In The Home, Daheia J. Barr-Anderson, Jayne A. Fulkerson, Mary Smyth, John H. Himes, Peter J. Hannan, Bonnie Holy Rock, Mary Story

Faculty Publications

Introduction: American Indian children have high rates of overweight and obesity, which may be partially attributable to screen-time behavior. Young children's screen-time behavior is strongly influenced by their environment and their parents' behavior. We explored whether parental television watching time, parental perceptions of children's screen time, and media-related resources in the home are related to scree time (ie, television, DVD/video, video game, and computer use) among Oglala Lakota youth residing on or near the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.

Methods: We collected baseline data from 431 child and parent/caregiver pairs who participated in Bright Start, a group-randomized, controlled, school-based …

The Effects Of Gender And Elicitation Method On The Prosodic Cues Used By 7- To 11-Year-Old Children To Signal Sentence Type, Lacey Ann Powell

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the prosodic cues used by 7 to 11 year-old children to signal questions and declarative statements in terms of changes in fundamental frequency (F0), duration, and intensity. Additional aims were to evaluate how children's use of prosody changes as a function of gender and method of elicitation. A group of 16 children participated in three different types of elicitation tasks (imitative, reading, and naturalistic). An acoustic analysis revealed that the participants produced the different sentence types using a variety of acoustic cues. Not only do children vary the mean of F0 and …

The Contribution Of Dance To Daily Physical Activity Among Adolescent Girls, Jennifer R. O'Neill, Russell R. Pate, Steven P. Hooker

Faculty Publications

Background: Structured physical activity (PA) programs are well positioned to promote PA among youth, however, little is known about these programs, particularly dance classes. The aims of this study were to: 1) describe PA levels of girls enrolled in dance classes, 2) determine the contribution of dance classes to total moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), and 3) compare PA between days with a dance class (program days) and days without a dance class (non-program days).

Methods: Participants were 149 girls (11-18 years) enrolled in dance classes in 11 dance studios. Overall PA was assessed with accelerometry for 8 consecutive days, and …

How Many Steps/Day Are Enough? For Children And Adolescents, Catrine Tudor-Locke, Cora L. Craig, Michael W. Beets, Sarahjane Belton, Greet M. Cardon, Scott Duncan, Yoshiro Hatano, David R. Lubans, Timothy S. Olds, Anders Raustorp, David A. Rowe, John C. Spence, Shigeho Tanaka, Steven N. Blair

Faculty Publications

Worldwide, public health physical activity guidelines include special emphasis on populations of children (typically 6-11 years) and adolescents (typically 12-19 years). Existing guidelines are commonly expressed in terms of frequency, time, and intensity of behaviour. However, the simple step output from both accelerometers and pedometers is gaining increased credibility in research and practice as a reasonable approximation of daily ambulatory physical activity volume. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to review existing child and adolescent objectively monitored step-defined physical activity literature to provide researchers, practitioners, and lay people who use accelerometers and pedometers with evidence-based translations of these public …

The Importance Of Self-Efficacy And Basic Psychological Needs In Children’S Physical Activity: Measurement, Prediction And Intervention, Casey E. Gray

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The importance of physical activity in the overall health promotion and primary prevention of cardiovascular disease risk factors and metabolic diseases in children is well established. Nonetheless, interventions to increase physical activity among this population have been largely unsuccessful. The main objective of the research in this dissertation was to explore the suitability of self-efficacy and basic psychological needs for physical activity prediction and intervention in children. Item generation and psychometric evaluation of psychological questionnaires occurred in study 1 (Chapter 2). Using a prospective design, study 2 (Chapter 3) established task efficacy, barriers efficacy, competence, and autonomy as significant predictors …

The Experiences Of Families Raising Children With Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus: A Qualitative Investigation, Carol A. Loucks

Theses and Dissertations

Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM), a common, chronic disease, affects the patient as well as the family. It requires daily vigilance in blood sugar monitoring, dietary management and insulin administration. Research has examined the impact of T1DM on family adaptation and relationships. However, few current data describes parents' perceptions of challenges. The purpose of this study was to identify challenges and impact on the family perceived by parents raising children with T1DM. Using a qualitative descriptive design, 21 parents raising children with T1DM participated in audio-recorded focus groups. At the time of the interviews the children ranged in age from …

Sally J. Rogers And Geraldine Dawson: Review Of Early Start Denver Model For Young Children With Autism: Promoting Language, Learning And Engagement (Book Review), Rhea Paul

Communication Disorders Faculty Publications

Book review by Rhea Paul:

Rogers, Sally R. and Geraldine Dawson. Early Start Denver Model for Young Children with Autism: Promoting Language, Learning and Engagement. New York: Guilford Press, 2010. 9781606236321; 9781606234914 (pbk.)

Non-Traumatic Coma In Paediatric Patients: Etiology And Predictors Of Outcome, Saba Ahmed, Kiran Ejaz, Muhammad Shahzad Shamim, Maimoona Azhar Salim, Muhammad Umer Rais Khan

Department of Emergency Medicine

Objective: To determine the common etiological features of non-traumatic coma in children and evaluate possible predictors of morbidity and mortality in these patients.
Method: A cross sectional study was carried out at the Paediatric Department of Civil Hospital Karachi from February 2008 to February 2009. In total 100 children, up to 14 years of age having history of non-traumatic coma were included. At the time of enrolment demographic data, clinical features, laboratory parameters and radiological workup were recorded. Data was entered and analyzed with SPSS version 16. Descriptive statistics were generated for all variables. Relationships between categorical variables were evaluated …

Children's Understanding Of Intimate Partner Violence, Renee Lynn Deboard-Lucas

Dissertations (1934 -)

There is a clear connection between exposure to interparental aggression and children's own future episodes of violent behavior. What is significantly less understood is why this pattern develops. The current study used quantitative and semi-structured methods to identify factors that shape children's understanding of intimate partner violence. Understanding violence was defined as including causal knowledge (Why does violence occur?) and beliefs about the acceptability of intimate partner violence. Factors proposed to predict children's causal attributions included mothers' perceived causes of interparental aggression and exposure to different forms of violence, including interparental, parent-child, and neighborhood aggression. Perceived causes of intimate partner …

Bitewing Radiographic Evaluation Of Interproximal Carious Lesions On Permanent First Molars In 6 And 12 Year-Olds In The Public Health System Of Chile, Rodrigo Alejandro Haristoy Dr.

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

The Relation Between Perceived And Real Obesity In School Children From Georgia, Kartik Pillai

Public Health Theses

Background: Physical activity and childhood obesity have been studied extensively across the globe, but only few studies have been done in children who are aware of their obesity, overweight status and among children who are taking measures to control their weight. The purpose of this study is to examine agreement between perceived weight and ideal weight differences across gender, grade level, race and levels of weight control.

METHODS: This study is based on the secondary analysis of the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) conducted in the state of Georgia in 2009 (n=1882). The 2009 YRBS for each state that …

Examining Activity Levels And Motor Proficiency: A Comparison Of Children Who Are Overweight And At A Healthy Weight To Their Parents And Peers, Aaron Copeland, Maresa Madsen, Riley Phelps, Brandon Richards

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine relationships and differences between motor proficiency, activity level, and parental activity level in children who are at a healthy weight and children who are overweight or obese.

Methods: Forty-four children (26 children at a healthy weight and 18 children who were overweight or obese) between the ages of 8-16 (BMI: 14.3-43.6 kg/m2) and 36 parents (BMI: 18.1-44.7) participated in this study. Children and parents wore StepWatch activity monitors (SAM) to measure activity levels over a 72 hour period. Tests reflecting several determinants of motor performance were also administered to …

Effects Of Environment On Children's Motor Scores, Eligibility Status, And Administration Times, Derrick Mittelstadt, Abigail Parker, Kirsten Pickett, Heather Temkin

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Best practices for assessing developmental skills in young children focus on naturalistic observation in everyday settings, but the effects of environment on test scores, eligibility status and administration time have not been explored. The Peabody Developmental Motor Scales-Second Edition (PDMS-2) was administered to 34 children aged 18 to 59 months in natural and pull-out settings. PDMS-2 total, gross, and fine motor quotient (TMQ, GMQ, and FMQ) scores were significantly lower in the natural environment (p’s≤.014). Based on our results, more children would qualify for services when tested in natural environments using TMQ and GMQ scores. It also took significantly longer …

Erosive Tooth Wear And Consumption Of Beverages Among Children In The United States, Christopher Okunseri, Elaye Okunseri, Cesar Gonzalez, Alexis D. Visotcky, Aniko Szabo

School of Dentistry Faculty Research and Publications

Background/Aim: Experimental studies have identified differences in the effect of physicochemical properties of beverages on the etiology of erosive tooth wear (ETW). Little is known from epidemiological studies about the relationship between ETW and consumption of juices, drinks and milk. This study examined the relationship between the consumption of juices, drinks, milk and ETW in children in the United States. Methods: The National Health and Nutrition Examinations Survey data for 2003–2004 was analyzed. Trained and calibrated examiners used the modified Smith and Knight Tooth Wear Index from a 1998 United Kingdom Adult Health Survey to measure ETW. Beverage consumption collected …

Executive Function Profiles In Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury, Erik Nelson Ringdahl

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Traumatic brain injury is a common cause of disability and death among children in the United States. Insult to the frontal and temporal lobes are frequent in closed head brain injury. Cognitive deficits in a variety of domains are common sequelae of brain trauma. In many cases, trauma to the frontal and temporal lobe regions engender prominent deficits in higher-order cognitive processing, memory, and attention.

Higher-order cognitive processing, or Executive Functions are the grouping of cognitive processes necessary for organization of thoughts and activities, attending to the activities, prioritizing tasks, managing time efficiently, and making decisions (Alvarez & Emory, 2006; …

Dental Plan Performance With Medicaid Reform In Virginia, James Reed

Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: To assess the effect of dental Medicaid reforms in the state of Virginia on dental plan performance. Methods: This project is a retrospective cohort study of 825,000 dental claims obtained from the Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services. This cohort includes dental claims for children enrolled in Virginia’s Medicaid program from July 1, 2002 through June 30, 2008. The independent variable was enrollment pre or post policy reform with July 1, 2005 as the period dividing date. The dependent variable was dental benefit utilization measured as the average number of restorative, preventative, and total procedures. Statistical methods include Welch’s …

Evaluating Dental Surgery Post-Operative Pain In Children Following Treatment Under General Anesthesia, Malinda Husson

Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this pilot study was to determine if there is a difference in post-operative pain experience for children following dental restorations and/or extractions under general anesthesia (GA), with and without local anesthetic (LA). The alternative hypothesis is that children will experience less post-operative discomfort and soft tissue trauma when using intra-ligamental local anesthetic during the intra-operative time period. Methods: Patients were recruited for this single blind, randomized, prospective cohort study with the following inclusion criteria, children age 2-6 years requiring general anesthesia for dental treatment. Patients were randomized into categories of either receiving a standardized local anesthetic …

Preschool Children’S Willingness To Try And Preference For Docosahexaenoic Acid Omega-3 Foods, Bethany Joann Bettenhausen

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

During the preschool years, obesigenic eating habits are formed which are strongly associated with risk of developing chronic diseases later in life particularly cardiovascular disease. Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) omega-3 fatty acid is a polyunsaturated fat with known benefits for heart health, brain cell structure, and retinal development. Current intakes of DHA are below recommended levels. United States (US) Midwestern children may be particularly at risk for suboptimal intakes of DHA. However, foods fortified with life’sDHA^TM, a product of Martek Biosciences and omega-3 eggs may provide culturally acceptable sources of DHA to Midwestern children.

Very little is known about …

Antibiotics For Bronchiolitis In Children, Geoffrey Spurling, Kithsiri Fonseka, Jenny Doust, Chris Del Mar

Jenny Doust

BackgroundBronchiolitis is a serious, potentially life-threatening respiratory illness commonly affecting young babies. It is most often caused by Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV). Diagnosis is usually made on clinical grounds (especially tachypnoea and wheezing in a child less than two years of age). Antibiotics are not recommended for bronchiolitis unless there is concern about complications such as secondary bacterial pneumonia. Nevertheless, they are used at rates of 34 to 99% in uncomplicated cases. ObjectivesTo evaluate the use of antibiotics for bronchiolitis. Search strategyWe searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) which includes the Acute Respiratory Infection Groups' specialized register, …

Sleep Duration, Sleep Regularity, Body Weight, And Metabolic Homeostasis In School-Aged Children, Karen Spruyt, Dennis L. Molfese, David Gozal

Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior: Faculty and Staff Publications

OBJECTIVE: The goal was to explore the effects of duration and regularity of sleep schedules on BMI and the impact on metabolic regulation in children.

METHODS: Sleep patterns of 308 community-recruited children 4 to 10 years of age were assessed with wrist actigraphs for 1 week in a cross-sectional study, along with BMI assessment. Fasting morning plasma levels of glucose, insulin, lipids, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein also were measured for a subsample.

RESULTS: Children slept 8 hours per night, on average, regardless of their weight categorization. A nonlinear trend between sleep and weight emerged. For obese children, …

Body Mass, Frequency Of Eating And Breakfast Consumption In 9-13 Year Olds, Tara Coppinger, Y. M. Jeanes, J. Hardwick, S. Reeves

Pre-prints

Background: Unhealthy eating patterns in childhood can lead to adverse health conditions, particularly obesity. However, debate remains around the precise eating behaviours that lead to these conditions. The present study aimed to address this lack of evidence by reporting on the eating frequency, breakfast consumption and body mass index (BMI, kg m–2) of youth in the UK.

Methods: A total of 264 (133 boys and 131 girls) participants, aged 10–13 years, completed self-report measures of dietary intake via 3-day food/drink diaries (Friday to Sunday). Trained researchers recorded height and weight to calculate the BMI. Diaries were analysed using …

Vitamin D Levels And Risk Of Dyslipidemia Among Us Children With Diabetes And Obesity, Elsina E. Hagan

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

Dyslipidemia is increasing among U.S. children, and the prevalence is highest among children with diabetes and obesity. Recently, vitamin D deficiency has been suggested as a possible dietary risk factor for dyslipidemia. Despite the high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency amongst children, virtually no studies have evaluated the association between vitamin D and dyslipidemia among children. We evaluated the vitamin D and dyslipidemia relationship among 240 children and adolescents aged 2 through 21 years who were outpatients of a pediatric endocrinology unit at a large tertiary care facility in Western Massachusetts from April 2008 to April 2010. Eligible children were …

Psychosocial Aspects Of Physical Activity And Fitness In Special-Population, Minority Middle School Children, Jeffrey J. Martin, Nate Mccaughtry, Anne S. Murphy, Sara Flory, Kimberlydawn Wisdom

Kinesiology, Health and Sport Studies

Special-population research predicting physical activity (PA) and fitness with minority middle school children from at-risk environments is rare. Hence, the purpose of our investigation was to evaluate the ability of important social cognitive and environment-based measures to predict PA and fitness with children with developmental delay, cognitive, and emotional impairments. Children (N = 89, ages 11-15) completed questionnaires assessing social cognitive and environment-based constructs, self report PA, and completed fitness testing. Correlational results supported some hypotheses. The descriptive and correlational results also indicated commonalities with similar research on non special-population minority middle school children from at-risk environments.