Comparison of bibliographic databases for information on the rehabilitation of people with severe mental illness

OBJECTIVE: The research sought to examine the overlap in coverage between several health-related databases, thus enabling the identification of the most important sources for searching for information on the rehabilitation of people with severe mental illness. METHODS: The literature was searched within a systematic review. Several health-related databases were retrieved (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, The Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, PsycLIT, Sociofile, and Social Science Citation Index), noting their source and comparing results retrieved from each database. FINDINGS: The total number of studies retrieved from each database varied. Almost a third of the papers retrieved from each database were unique to that source. Forty-two percent of the papers were only found in one database. Restricting a search to one database alone would miss many papers and could affect the results of a systematic review. PsycLIT was the most useful database for this topic area, containing 44% of the papers. MEDLINE, the database of first choice for many health professionals, held only 29%. CONCLUSIONS: No database was determined to be significantly more useful than any other--each warranted inclusion in the study. Reliance cannot be placed on one database alone, and other methods such as hand searching should also be used. Although this may not be new information for information professionals, it is likely to be new for health professionals and researchers who are increasingly performing their own literature searches. Information professionals have an important role to play in conveying this message to those outside their profession.     

Bilateral arm power imbalance in swim bench exercise to exhaustion

We examined the supposition that swimmers may exhibit an imbalance in bilateral arm power output during simulated swimming exercise. Ten competitive front crawl swimmers (5 males, 5 females; age 20.5+/-2.3 years; height 1.74+/-0.09 m; body mass 72.0+/-16.7 kg; 400 m freestyle swim time 278+/-20.5 s; mean +/- s) performed four incremental (10 W x min(-1)) swim ramp tests on a computer-interfaced biokinetic swim bench ergometer. External power output from each arm was measured continuously to exhaustion. The results showed that, throughout the course of the simulated swim, external power output clearly favoured the left arm (F1,9 = 12.5, P= 0.006). This was especially evident in the final 30 s to exhaustion, when 54.0+/-3.87% of external power output was derived from the left arm versus 46.0+/-3.87% from the right arm. The disparity in external power output was further highlighted when the participants were grouped into unilateral and bilateral breathers. Unilateral breathers (n = 5) produced 57.1+/-2.62% of external power output from the left armversus 42.9+/-2.62% from the right arm (P= 0.001). Bilateral breathers (n = 5) exhibited a more balanced external power output of 51.0+/-1.82% from the left arm and 49.0+/-1.82% from the right arm (P = 0.177). Evidence of power imbalance in the simulated swimming stroke may have important implications for optimizing swim performance. The observed power imbalance may be reduced when a bilateral breathing technique is adopted.     

The influence of ventilatory control on heart rate variability in children

The aim of this study was to determine the influence of breathing frequency and tidal volume on resting heart rate variability in children aged 9 years (n = 29) and 16 years (n = 19). Heart rate variability was measured in four conditions: (1) without the control of ventilation followed at random by (2) a fixed breathing frequency of 12 breaths x min(-1), (3) a breathing frequency of 12 breaths x min(-1) but with a fixed tidal volume of 30% vital capacity and (4) a fixed breathing frequency of 6 breaths x min(-1) and a tidal volume of 30% vital capacity. A total of 128 RR intervals (the time between two spikes in the heart rate) were detected and absolute high- and low-frequency spectral components were calculated using autoregressive modelling. The younger children were unable to control ventilation to achieve conditions 3 and 4; therefore, a 2 x 2 (group x condition) analysis of variance was used to analyse conditions 1 and 2. There were significant interactions between group and heart rate variability conditions for the low-frequency component and the ratio of low to high frequencies (P < 0.001). The main effect for condition showed that at 12 breaths x min(-1) with no fixed tidal volume there was a significantly higher standard deviation of the RR interval, total power and high-frequency (P< 0.01) and low-frequency spectral components (P < 0.05) than in the condition with no ventilatory control. Across the four breathing conditions for the older participants, the high-frequency spectral component was significantly higher in the condition at 6 breaths x min(-1) with a fixed tidal volume than in that with no ventilatory control (P < 0.005); the ratio of high to low frequencies was significantly lower for the spontaneous condition than those performed at 12 breaths x min(-1) (P < 0.001). The results provide evidence of the need for ventilatory control when assessing short-term resting heart rate variability in children.     

Effect of verbal instructions and image size on visual search strategies in basketball free throw shooting

We assessed the effects on basketball free throw performance of two types of verbal directions with an external attentional focus. Novices (n = 16) were pre-tested on free throw performance and assigned to two groups of similar ability (n = 8 in each). Both groups received verbal instructions with an external focus on either movement dynamics (movement form) or movement effects (e.g. ball trajectory relative to basket). The participants also observed a skilled model performing the task on either a small or large screen monitor, to ascertain the effects of visual presentation mode on task performance. After observation of six videotaped trials, all participants were given a post-test. Visual search patterns were monitored during observation and cross-referenced with performance on the pre- and post-test. Group effects were noted for verbal instructions and image size on visual search strategies and free throw performance. The 'movement effects' group saw a significant improvement in outcome scores between the pre-test and post-test. These results supported evidence that this group spent more viewing time on information outside the body than the 'movement dynamics' group. Image size affected both groups equally with more fixations of shorter duration when viewing the small screen. The results support the benefits of instructions when observing a model with an external focus on movement effects, not dynamics.     

Age-related differences in vision and proprioception in a lower limb interceptive task: the effects of skill level and practice

This study examined age-related differences in the role of visual proprioception during a lower limb interceptive action and how this varies as a function of skill and practice. In Experiment 1, skilled and less-skilled 8-, 10-, and 12-year-old boys controlled a soccer ball using their preferred foot under full vision and when sight of the effector was occluded. With the exception of the high-skilled 12-year-olds and low-skilled 8-year-olds, participants showed a decrement in peformance when denied access to visual proprioception. In Experiment 2, the effect of practicing under different informational constraints was examined for 12 year-old boys. Children performed varying amounts of practice under full vision, or in a condition where sight of the foot was occluded, before being transferred to the alternative viewing condition. Participants who practiced under occluded viewing conditions showed greater relative improvement in performance over practice and transfer sessions compared with a full vision control group. Some support is provided for the manipulation of visual informational constraints as an effective pedagogical approach to motor learning.     

Using focus groups to guide development of a public health Web site

This paper explores a project funded through the National Network of Libraries of Medicine to enhance effective use of the Internet by public health professionals. The processes and outcome of an effort to develop a statewide Web site for public health professionals are described. A series of focus groups was conducted as a preliminary data-gathering tool to evaluate the information needs of the target population. Results of the focus group provided a valuable framework upon which to build a successful schema for Web site development.