Training-Associated Superior Visuomotor Integration Performance in Elite Badminton Players after Adjusting for Cardiovascular Fitness

Badminton is recognized as the fastest racket sport in the world based on the speed of the birdie which can travel up to 426 km per hour. On the badminton court, players are not only required to track the moving badminton birdie (visual tracking and information integration) but also must anticipate the exact timing to hit it back (temporal estimation). However, the association of training experience related to visuomotor integration or temporal prediction ability remains unclear. In this study, we tested this hypothesis by examining the association between training experience and visuomotor performances after adjusting for age, education, and cardiovascular fitness levels. Twenty-eight professional badminton players were asked to perform a compensatory tracking task and a time/movement estimation task for measuring visuomotor integration and temporal prediction, respectively. Correlation analysis revealed a strong association between training experience and performance on visuomotor integration, indicating badminton training may be promoted to develop visuomotor integration ability. Furthermore, the regression model suggests training experience explains 32% of visuomotor integration performances. These behavioral findings suggest badminton training may facilitate the perceptual–cognitive performance related to visuomotor integration. Our findings highlight the potential training in visuomotor integration may apply to eye–hand coordination performance in badminton sport.

Cross-Sectional Associations Between Wake-Time Movement Compositions and Mental Health in Preschool Children With and Without Motor Coordination Problems

Movement behaviors have been found to be important correlates of health for children and may be particularly important for children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) who often experience greater mental health problems. To date, however, little research has investigated the daily movement composition of preschool children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) and/or its association with mental health. The purpose of the current study was to: (1) examine whether differences in movement compositions (i.e., sedentary time, light physical activity, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity) exist between typically developing (TD) preschool-age children and those at risk for DCD (rDCD); and (2) investigate associations between movement compositions and mental health indicators. This cross-sectional study used the baseline cohort data from the Coordination and Activity Tracking in CHildren (CATCH) study. A total of 589 preschool-age children (Mage = 4.94 ± 0.59 years; 57.4% boys) were included in this analysis, of which 288 scored at or below the 16th percentile on the Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2 and were thus classified as rDCD. Wake time movement behaviors were measured using accelerometers and parents completed the Child Behavior Checklist to assess their child's mental health (i.e., internalizing and externalizing problems). Compositional data analysis techniques were used. After adjusting for potential confounders, the results demonstrated similar movement compositions between TD and rDCD children. Among the full sample, findings revealed a significant association between sedentary time and externalizing problems, however, each of the other associations did not reach statistical significance. These results are consistent with emerging evidence demonstrating similar patterns of physical activity and sedentary time among TD children and those classified as rDCD during the preschool years. Although movement behaviors explained little variance in mental health during this period, future research should investigate when movement compositions diverge, and how these changes may impact the mental health of TD children and those classified as rDCD later in childhood.

Cross-sectional associations between wake-time movement behaviour compositions and indicators of mental health among preschool children

Movement behaviours have been found to be important correlates of health for children and may be particularly important for children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) who often experience greater mental health problems. To date, however, little research has investigated the daily movement composition of preschool children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) and/or its association with mental health. The purpose of the current study was to: 1) examine whether differences in movement compositions (i.e., sedentary time, light physical activity, moderate-to-vigorous activity) exist between typically developing (TD) preschool-age children and those at risk for DCD (rDCD); and 2) investigate associations between movement compositions and mental health indicators. This cross-sectional study used the baseline cohort data from the Coordination and Activity Tracking in CHildren (CATCH) study. A total of 589 preschool-age children (Mage = 4.94 ± 0.59 years; 57.4% boys) were included in this analysis, of which 288 were classified as rDCD. Wake time movement behaviours were measured using accelerometers and parents completed the Child Behavior Checklist to assess their child’s mental health (i.e., internalizing and externalizing problems). Compositional data analysis techniques were used. After adjusting for potential confounders, the results demonstrated similar movement compositions between TD and rDCD children. Among the full sample, findings revealed a significant association between sedentary time and externalizing problems, however, each of the other associations did not reach statistical significance. These results are consistent with emerging evidence demonstrating similar patterns of physical activity and sedentary time among TD children and those classified as rDCD during the preschool years. Although movement behaviours explained little variance in mental health during this period, future research should investigate when movement compositions diverge, and how these changes may impact the mental health of TD children and those classified as rDCD later in childhood.

An Interaction-Based Bayesian Network Framework for Surgical Workflow Segmentation

Recognizing and segmenting surgical workflow is important for assessing surgical skills as well as hospital effectiveness, and plays a crucial role in maintaining and improving surgical and healthcare systems. Most evidence supporting this remains signal-, video-, and/or image-based. Furthermore, casual evidence of the interaction between surgical staff remains challenging to gather and is largely absent. Here, we collected the real-time movement data of the surgical staff during a neurosurgery to explore cooperation networks among different surgical roles, namely surgeon, assistant nurse, scrub nurse, and anesthetist, and to segment surgical workflows to further assess surgical effectiveness. We installed a zone position system (ZPS) in an operating room (OR) to effectively record high-frequency high-resolution movements of all surgical staff. Measuring individual interactions in a closed, small area is difficult, and surgical workflow classification has uncertainties associated with the surgical staff in terms of their varied training and operation skills, patients in terms of their initial states and biological differences, and surgical procedures in terms of their complexities. We proposed an interaction-based framework to recognize the surgical workflow and integrated a Bayesian network (BN) to solve the uncertainty issues. Our results suggest that the proposed BN method demonstrates good performance with a high accuracy of 70%. Furthermore, it semantically explains the interaction and cooperation among surgical staff.

Performance Comparison of Geo-Referencing a Radar Using Prism Method With Global Positioning System

Monitoring of the surface operations using movement and surveying radar (MSR) can prevent loss of life, equipment, production and loss of the mine. Slope monitoring using MSR is an important aspect of open-pit mining as it provides real-time movement of deformation data for the slope. It is therefore important that the radar is accurately geo-referenced in order to provide accurate real-time movement data. Geo-referencing is defined as the process of determining an instrument’s position (in the form of Easting, Northing, Height) as well as the orientation with respect to the mine’s local coordinate system. This helps in getting geo-referenced data points from the radar that are identified by a unique set of coordinates in relation to the mine’s coordinate system which allows the radar to track movement for a specific set of coordinates. In this research, we assess the performance of geo-referencing a radar using the total station method and compare it with the integration of Advance Navigation – Spatial Dual GPS system connected via RS422 on the MSR. This includes usage of the Spatial Dual navigation coordinates output to calculate the radar’s position relative to the mine local coordinates and mapping the radar’s azimuth, elevation and Range (Az, El and Rl) values to the measured pit-slope data points. Furthermore, a comparison of key attributes of both methods of geo-referencing is performed using a matrix system and giving an overall performance appraisal of both systems. Integrating a navigation system allows the radar to have an auto geo-referencing functionality that will reduce the time spent in completing this process. The findings reveal that the GPS obtained a higher score than the total station with prism method on the weighted matrix system. The total station was found to be more accurate than the GPS however, the deployment time for the GPS is quicker than that of the total station. This is important for different operation such as strip and open-pit mining to choose the preferred method of geo-referencing depending on the level of accuracy required.

School-Time Movement Behaviors and Fundamental Movement Skills in Preschoolers: An Isotemporal Reallocation Analysis

Little is known of how reallocations of time spent in different movement behaviors during preschool might relate to preschoolers’ fundamental movement skills (FMS), a key predictor of later physical activity (PA). Thus, the aim of this study was to examine (a) whether preschoolers’ school-time movement was associated with their FMS and (b) the effects on FMS of reallocating time between PA and sedentary behavior (SB). This was a cross-sectional study, using intervention data with Brazilian low-income preschoolers. We observed Brazilian preschoolers of both sexes ( Mage = 4.5, SD = 0.8 years-old; 101boys) over 10 hours of school-time and objectively assessed their PA and SB with Actigraph wGT3X and their FMS with the Test of Gross Motor Development – Second Edition. We explored the associations between school-time movement behaviors and FMS and between reallocated school-time movement behaviors and FES using compositional analysis in R (version 1.40-1), robCompositions (version 0.92-7), and lmtest (version 0.9-35) packages. This isotemporal reallocation showed that, for manipulative skills, reallocating time (5, 10, and 15 minutes, respectively) from light PA to SB was associated with increasing skill (0.14, 0.28, and 0.42 FMS units), raising questions as to whether fine motor activity occurred during SB. Thus, school-time movement significantly predicted FMS, with a modest increase in SB, at the expense of light PA eliciting improved manipulative skills.

SCHOOL-TIME MOVEMENT BEHAVIOURS AND FUNDAMENTAL MOVEMENT SKILLS IN PRESCHOOLERS: AN ISOTEMPORAL REALLOCATION ANALYSIS

<p><b>ABSTRACT</b></p> <p><b>BACKGROUND:</b> Little is known on how relocations of time spent in different movement behaviours during pre-school hours could relate to preschooler’s fundamental movement skills (FMS), a key predictor of later physical activity (PA). Thus, the aim of this study was to examine whether the school-time composition was associated with FMS; and to investigate predicted differences in FMS when a fixed duration of time was reallocated from one activity behaviour to another in preschool children. <b>METHODS:</b> A cross-sectional representative data of an intervention study with Brazilian low-income preschoolers. Two hundred and four preschoolers of both sexes (4.5±0.8 years-old; 101boys) provided 10 hours of school-time objectively assessed PA and sedentary behaviour (SB) data (Actigraph wGT3X), and FMS assessments (TGMD-2). Association of school-time composition of movement behaviuors with FMS and its reallocations during school-time was explored using compositional analysis in R (version 1.40-1), robCompositions (version 0.92-7), and lmtest (version 0.9-35) packages. <b>RESULTS:</b> The isotemporal reallocation showed that for manipulative skills, an increasing pattern was observed (0.14, 0.28, and 0.42-units) when reallocating 5, 10 and 15 minutes, respectively, from light PA to SB. <b>CONCLUSIONS:</b> The current study highlights that school-time composition is a significant predictor of FMS. Moreover, a modest increase in SB, at the expense of LPA, during the school-time may elicit a positive change in manipulative skills. </p>

SCHOOL-TIME MOVEMENT BEHAVIOURS AND FUNDAMENTAL MOVEMENT SKILLS IN PRESCHOOLERS: AN ISOTEMPORAL REALLOCATION ANALYSIS

<p><b>ABSTRACT</b></p> <p><b>BACKGROUND:</b> Little is known on how relocations of time spent in different movement behaviours during pre-school hours could relate to preschooler’s fundamental movement skills (FMS), a key predictor of later physical activity (PA). Thus, the aim of this study was to examine whether the school-time composition was associated with FMS; and to investigate predicted differences in FMS when a fixed duration of time was reallocated from one activity behaviour to another in preschool children. <b>METHODS:</b> A cross-sectional representative data of an intervention study with Brazilian low-income preschoolers. Two hundred and four preschoolers of both sexes (4.5±0.8 years-old; 101boys) provided 10 hours of school-time objectively assessed PA and sedentary behaviour (SB) data (Actigraph wGT3X), and FMS assessments (TGMD-2). Association of school-time composition of movement behaviuors with FMS and its reallocations during school-time was explored using compositional analysis in R (version 1.40-1), robCompositions (version 0.92-7), and lmtest (version 0.9-35) packages. <b>RESULTS:</b> The isotemporal reallocation showed that for manipulative skills, an increasing pattern was observed (0.14, 0.28, and 0.42-units) when reallocating 5, 10 and 15 minutes, respectively, from light PA to SB. <b>CONCLUSIONS:</b> The current study highlights that school-time composition is a significant predictor of FMS. Moreover, a modest increase in SB, at the expense of LPA, during the school-time may elicit a positive change in manipulative skills. </p>

Moving is in Every Direction

Traditionally, art history divided the arts into four genres: painting and sculpture, poetry and music. Hence the art-historical canon was dominated by a strict division into the arts of space and those of time. Movement (both of an internal and externalized kind) did not find a place within this classificatory corset. In 1766, Gotthold Ephraim Lessing framed the classical art-theoretical approach through his famous text ‚Laocoon: An Essay on the Limits of Painting and Poetry‘, in which he splits the arts into those unfolding in time and those unfolding in space. Lessing’s ‚Laocoon‘ is the founding text defining poetry and music as time-based, sculpture and painting as space-orientated. By 1900, this strict system of classification and hierarchization began to dissolve, giving way to cross-border experiments in the arts of the twentieth century up to the present day. This overturning of classical genre divisions between the static and the dynamic arts, between sculpture, installation, and performance enables us to examine artworks as variations of movement in terms of ‚constellations between scene and scenario‘. Furthermore, the development of movement as an artform implies the activation of the audience in participatory arts practice.