A novel system is proposed for analysing school-age children's force control while handwriting. We observed the development of force control in relation to pen grip among the children with different ages in this study. The findings suggested that manipulation skill may be crucial when children are establishing their handwriting capabilities.

Few studies discuss kinetic changes in tendinopathy models. We propose a customized corridor to evaluate dynamic weight bearing (DWB) and shearing forces. Sixty rats were randomly given ultrasound-assisted collagenase injections (Collagenase rats) or needle punctures (Control rats) in their left Achilles tendons, and then evaluated 1, 4, and 8 weeks later. The Collagenase rats always had significantly (p < 0.001) higher histopathological and ultrasound feature scores than did the Controls, significantly lower DWB values in the injured than in the right hindlimbs, and compensatorily higher (p < 0.05) DWB values in the contralateral than in the left forelimbs. The injured hindlimbs had lower outward shearing force 1 and 4 weeks later, and higher (p < 0.05) push-off shearing force 8 weeks later, than did the contralateral hindlimbs. Injured Control rat hindlimbs had lower DWB values than did the contralateral only at week 1. The Collagenase rats had only lower static weight bearing ratios (SWBRs) values than did the Controls at week 1 (p < 0.05). Our customized corridor showed changes in DWB compatible with histopathological and ultrasound feature changes in the rat tendinopathy model. The hindlimb SWBRs did not correspond with any tendinopathic changes.

Background. Knowledge regarding the relationship between writing kinetics and the difference among writing tasks is limited. Purpose. This study examined the differences in handwriting performance when doing tasks with different levels of challenge from both temporal and kinetic perspectives among children in four different age groups. Method. The cross-sectional design introduced a force-acquisition pen to detect differences of pen grip and writing kinetics among 170 school-age children doing writing tasks at different difficulty levels. Data were obtained on the force information of the digits and pen tip and the kinetic parameters to examine the coordination-and-control mechanism between the digits and pen. Statistical analyzes were carried out to indicate the differences in writing performance among groups and tasks. Findings. Statistical differences in the pen-grip forces, force fluctuation, and force ratio between grip and pen-tip forces were found when performing different writing tasks and among different age groups. Implications. The study provides an alternative method to explore how writing performance among school-age children can vary according to the difficulty of the writing tasks. Abré gé Description. Les connaissances concernant la relation entre la cinétique de l'écriture et la différence entre les tâches d'écriture sont limitées. But. Cette étude examinait les différences entre les performances à l'écrit d'enfants de quatre groupes d'âges différents, lors de l'exécution de tâches ayant différents degrés de difficulté, d'un point de vue temporel et cinétique. Mé thodologie. Ce devis transversal comprenait un stylo muni d'un système permettant de recueillir des données sur la force, afin de détecter les différences entre les forces de préhension et la cinétique d'écriture de 170 enfants d'âge scolaire pendant qu'ils effectuaient des tâches d'écriture ayant différents degrés de difficultés. Des données ont été obtenues sur la force exercée par les doigts sur le barillet et la force exercée sur la pointe du stylo et sur les paramètres de la cinétique, en vue d'examiner le mécanisme de coordination et de contrô le entre les doigts et le stylo. Des analyses statistiques ont été effectuées pour indiquer les différences entre les différents groupes et tâches, en ce qui concerne la performance à l'écrit. Ré sultats. Des différences statistiques ont été constatées entre les forces de préhension exercées sur le stylo, la fluctuation des forces et le rapport entre la force de préhension et les forces exercées sur la pointe du stylo lors de l'exécution de différentes tâches d'écriture et dans les différents groupes d'âges. Conséquences. L'étude propose une méthode différente pour explorer comment la performance à l'écrit des enfants d'âge scolaire peut varier en fonction du degré de difficulté des tâches d'écriture.

Anodic-aluminum-oxide (AAO) template lithography and atomic layer deposition (ALD) antireflection coating techniques have often been applied for the fabrication of wide-angle antireflection structures on silicon solar cells. In this study, an AAO template was fabricated as a mask to block the high density plasma dry etching from the crystalline silicon to form nanostructures on the surface of the crystalline silicon wafer. Then, a 55-nm-thick aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) film was deposited on the silicon nanostructures using the ALD method. The results show that the application of a nanostructured AZO film can decrease the average reflectivity of the crystalline silicon to 0.83% in the wavelength range from 400 to 850 nm for an incident angle of 8°. The conversion efficiency of the nanostructured silicon solar cell can be enhanced from 6.93% to 8.37%.

BackgroundThe lumbar range of motion has traditionally been used to assess disability in patients with low back disorders. Controversy exists about how movement ranges in static positions or in a single straight plane is related to the functional status of the patients. The trunk circumduction, as the result of neuromuscular coordination, is the integrated movements from three dimensions. The functional workspace stands for the volume of movement configuration from the trunk circumduction and represents all possible positions in three dimensions. By using single quantitative value, the functional workspace substitutes the complicated joint linear or angular motions. The aim of this study is to develop the functional workspace of the trunk circumduction (FWTC) considering possible functional positions in three dimensional planes. The reliability of the trunk circumduction is examined.MethodsTest-retest reliability was performed with 18 healthy young subjects. A three-dimensional (3-D) Motion Analysis System was used to record the trunk circumduction. The FWTC was defined and calculated based on the volume of the cone that was formed as the resultant scanned area of markers, multiplied by the length of the body segment. The statistical analysis of correlation was performed to describe the relation of maximal displacements of trunk circumduction and straight planes: sagittal and coronal.ResultsThe results of this study indicate that the movement of trunk circumduction measured by motion analysis instruments is a reliable tool. The ICC value is 0.90-0.96, and the means and standard deviations of the normalized workspace are: C7 0.425 (0.1162); L1 0.843 (0.2965); and knee 0.014 (0.0106). Little correlations between the maximal displacement of trunk circumduction and that of straight planes are shown and therefore suggest different movement patterns exist.ConclusionsThis study demonstrates high statistical reliability for the FWTC, which is important for the potential development as the functional assessment technique. The FWTC provides a single integrated value to represent angular and linear measurements of different joints and planes. Future study is expected to carry out the FWTC to evaluate the amount of workspace for the functional status of patients with low back injuries or patients with spinal surgery.