ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to use a cycle ergometer to assess cardiorespiratory changes during active exercise and to verify patients' satisfaction with this type of activity. Methods A single intervention involving active lower limb exercise was performed with a cycle ergometer (without load) for 5 minutes. The following variables were measured before, during and immediately after exercise: heart rate, blood pressure, respiratory rate, peripheral oxygen saturation and the Borg dyspnea scale score. Following the exercise, the patients answered a questionnaire to evaluate their satisfaction with this type of activity. Results A total of 38 patients (65% male) with a mean age of 48 ± 16 years old participated in the study. Enrolled patients presented a sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score of 2 (0 - 5 scale). During the exercise, 16% of the patients used ventilation support and 55% of them were breathing at room air. A comparison of the initial and final values of the variables indicated increases in the heart rate (92±17 beats/min vs. 95±18 beats/min; p<0.05), the respiratory rate (19 ± 8 breaths/min vs. 23±8 breaths/min; p<0.05) and the Borg dyspnea scale score (1.3±1.8 vs. 2.8±2.2; p<0.05). In addition, 85% of the patients reported enjoying the activity. Only 25% of the patients reported some discomfort, and 100% of the patients wanted to repeat this type of activity in future treatments. ConclusionDuring the cycle ergometer exercises, minor cardiorespiratory changes were observed in the patients. The evaluated patients reported high satisfaction with this type of activity.

ALPE -Language Test (Teste de Linguagem-ALPE, TL-ALPE) is a standardized receptive and expressive European-Portuguese (EP) language assessment instrument of to be used in pre-school age children in order to assess their semantic, morphosyntax and metalinguistic skills development.This paper describes the psychometric properties of TL-ALPE, i.e., -reliability (internal consistency, inter-and intra-judge reliability) and validity (content and construct validity). In order to standardize the TL-ALPE, 817 children (402 females and 415 males) with ages between [3;0-5;12[ were assessed across Portuguese mainland and islands. The TL-ALPE was applied by 42 trained and fully licensed SLPs. Preliminary results provided normative data about the EP speaking children: standardized norms (mean, standard deviation and percentile ranks).Results indicate that TL-ALPE presented a strong cohesion among the items analysed, a strong equivalence between the analysis performed by independent judges, and also a strong stability in the analysis performed by the same judge. Also seems to exist a strong correlation between TL-ALPE's data and those obtained in other EP studies (construct validity). TL-ALPE adequately measured the child's receptive and expressive language skills (content validity). In conclusion, the analysis of the preliminary results showed that TL-ALPE was a valid and reliable assessment instrument and can be used for early identification of oral language disorders. Keywords

Resting functional MRI studies of the infant brain are increasingly becoming an important tool in developmental neuroscience. Whereas the test-retest reliability of functional connectivity (FC) measures derived from resting fMRI data have been characterized in the adult and child brain, similar assessments have not been conducted in infants. In this study, we examined the intra-session test-retest reliability of FC measures from 119 infant brain MRI scans from four neurodevelopmental studies. We investigated edge-level and subject-level reliability within one MRI session (between and within runs) measured by the Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). First, using an atlas-based approach, we examined whole-brain connectivity as well as connectivity within two common resting fMRI networks - the default mode network (DMN) and the sensorimotor network (SMN). Second, we examined the influence of run duration, study site, and scanning manufacturer (e.g., Philips and General Electric) on ICCs. Lastly, we tested spatial similarity using the Jaccard Index from networks derived from independent component analysis (ICA). Consistent with resting fMRI studies from adults, our findings indicated poor edge-level reliability (ICC = 0.14–0.18), but moderate-to-good subject-level intra-session reliability for whole-brain, DMN, and SMN connectivity (ICC = 0.40–0.78). We also found significant effects of run duration, site, and scanning manufacturer on reliability estimates. Some ICA-derived networks showed strong spatial reproducibility (e.g., DMN, SMN, and Visual Network), and were labelled based on their spatial similarity to analogous networks measured in adults. These networks were reproducibly found across different study sites. However, other ICA-networks (e.g. Executive Control Network) did not show strong spatial reproducibility, suggesting that the reliability and/or maturational course of functional connectivity may vary by network. In sum, our findings suggest that developmental scientists may be on safe ground examining the functional organization of some major neural networks (e.g. DMN and SMN), but judicious interpretation of functional connectivity is essential to its ongoing success.

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Highlights:• Infant functional connectivity (FC) shows poor edge-level reliability (ICCs) • However, subject-level infant FC estimates show good-to-excellent ICCs • Spatial reproducibility is better for some resting networks (DMN, SMN) than others (ECN)• Reliability estimates differ across study site and MRI scanner • Conclusion -Infant FC can be a reliable measurement, but judicious use is needed AbstractResting functional MRI studies of the infant brain are increasingly becoming an important tool in developmental neuroscience. Whereas the test-retest reliability of functional connectivity (FC) measures derived from resting fMRI data have been characterized in the adult and child brain, similar assessments have not been conducted in infants. In this study, we examined the intra-session test-retest reliability of FC measures from 119 infant brain MRI scans from four neurodevelopmental studies. We investigated edge-level and subject-level reliability within one MRI session (between and within runs) measured by the Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). First, using an atlas-based approach, we examined whole-brain connectivity as well as connectivity within two common resting fMRI networks -the default mode network (DMN) and the sensorimotor network (SMN). Second, we examined the influence of run duration, study site, and scanning manufacturer (e.g., Philips and General Electric) on ICCs. Lastly, we tested spatial similarity using the Jaccard Index from networks derived from independent component analysis (ICA). Consistent with resting fMRI studies from adults, our findings indicated poor edge-level reliability (ICC = 0.14 -0.18), but moderate-to-good subjectlevel intra-session reliability for whole-brain, DMN, and SMN connectivity (ICC = 0.40 -0.78). We also found significant effects of run duration, site, and scanning manufacturer on reliability estimates. Some ICA-derived networks showed strong spatial reproducibility (e.g., DMN, SMN, and Visual Network), and were labelled based on their spatial similarity to analogous networks measured in adults. These networks were reproducibly found across different study studies. However, other ICA-networks (e.g. Executive Control Network) did not show strong spatial reproducibility, suggesting that the reliability and/or maturational course of functional connectivity may vary by network. In sum, our findings suggest that developmental scientist may be on safe ground examining the functional organization of some major neural networks (e.g. DMN and SMN), but judicious interpretation of functional connectivity is essential to its ongoing success. Keywords.Infant. fMRI. Test-retest reliability. ICC. Edge-level. Subject-level. Network. Jaccard Index. ICA. seldom assessed or controlled for in infant fMRI research. Third, the increased water content of the infant brain, relative to a more mature brain, alters tissue contrast (e.g., T2-weighted images in infants provide clearer greywhite matter demarcation) and may make image processing more challenging, eroding measurement reli...