Quality of life in patients with intermittent claudication

© 2017, The Author(s). Background: Intermittent claudication (IC) is a common condition that causes pain in the lower limbs when walking and has been shown to severely impact the quality of life (QoL) of patients. The QoL is therefore often regarded as an important measure in clinical trials investigating intermittent claudication. To date, no consensus exits on the type of life questionnaire to be used. This review aims to examine the QoL questionnaires used in trials investigating peripheral arterial disease (PAD). Material and methods: A systematic review of randomised clinical trials including a primary analysis of QoL via questionnaire was performed. Trials involving patients with diagnosed PAD were included (either clinically or by questionnaire). Any trial which had QoL as the primary outcome data was included with no limit being placed on the type of questionnaire used. Results: The search yielded a total of 1845 articles of which 31 were deemed appropriate for inclusion in the review. In total, 14 different QoL questionnaires were used across 31 studies. Of the questionnaires 24.06% were missing at least one domain when reported in the results of the study. Mean standard deviation varied widely based on the domain reported, particularly within the SF36. Discussion: Despite previous recommendations for Europewide standardisation of quality of life assessment, to date no such tool exists. This review demonstrated that a number of different questionnaires remain in use, that their completion is often inadequate and that further evidence-based guidelines on QoL assessment are required to guide future research

Envisioning the Archipelago

Certain limitations arise from the persistent consideration of two common relations of islands in the humanities and social sciences: land and sea, and island and continent/mainland. What remains largely absent or silent are ways of being, knowing and doing—ontologies, epistemologies and methods—that illuminate island spaces as inter-related,mutually constituted and co-constructed: as island and island. Therefore, this paper seeks to map out and justify a research agenda proposing a robust and comprehensive exploration of this third and comparatively neglected nexus of relations. In advancing these aims, the paper’s goal is to (re)inscribe the theoretical, metaphorical, real and empirical power and potential of the archipelago: of seas studded with islands; island chains; relations that may embrace equivalence, mutual relation and difference in signification

Search and modelling of remnant radio galaxies in the LOFAR Lockman Hole field

Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics. Reproduced with permission from Astronomy & Astrophysics, © 2017 ESO.The phase of radio galaxy evolution after the jets have switched off, often referred to as the remnant phase, is poorly understood and very few sources in this phase are known. In this work we present an extensive search for remnant radio galaxies in the Lockman Hole, a well-studied extragalactic field. We create mock catalogues of low-power radio galaxies based on Monte Carlo simulations to derive first-order predictions of the fraction of remnants in radio flux limited samples for comparison with our Lockman-Hole sample. We have combined LOFAR observations at 150 MHz with public surveys at higher frequencies to perform a complete selection and have used, for the first time, a combination of spectral criteria (e.g. the classical ultra-steep spectral index and high spectral curvature) as well as morphological criteria (e.g. low radio core prominence and relaxed shapes). Mock catalogues of radio galaxies are created based on existing spectral and dynamical evolution models combined with observed source properties. We have identified 23 candidate remnant radio galaxies which cover a variety of morphologies and spectral characteristics. We suggest that these different properties are related to different stages of the remnant evolution. We find that ultra-steep spectrum remnants represent only a fraction of our remnant sample suggesting a very rapid luminosity evolution of the radio plasma. Results from mock catalogues demonstrate the importance of dynamical evolution in the remnant phase of low-power radio galaxies to obtain fractions of remnant sources consistent with our observations. Moreover, these results confirm that ultra-steep spectrum remnants represent only a subset of the entire population ($\sim$50%) when frequencies higher than 1400 MHz are not included in the selection process, and that they are biased towards old ages.Peer reviewe

Molecular gut-content analysis reveals high frequency of \u3ci\u3eHelicoverpa zea\u3c/i\u3e (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) consumption by \u3ci\u3eOrius insidiosus\u3c/i\u3e (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae) in sweet corn

Management of corn earworm Helicoverpa zea in sweet corn grown for processing can be challenging due to the lack of effective transgenic and chemical control options. However, biological control by generalist predators can provide a significant impact on pests in this cropping system. One of the most ubiquitous predators of H. zea and other lepidopterans is the insidious flower bug, Orius insidiosus. This small hemipteran has been observed as an important mortality agent of H. zea in several cropping systems, but the strength of the trophic connection between these species has not been documented in sweet corn. Molecular gut-content analysis was conducted to test field-collected O. insidiosus for the presence of H. zea DNA using species-specific PCR primers developed and optimized for this project. Controlled feeding trials determined that the detectability half-life of this technique was 2.32 h. At peak predation in late August, 32% of O. insidiosus tested positive for H. zea DNA. The date of peak predation also corresponded with peak silking of sweet corn plants, which is the most attractive crop growth stage to both H. zea and O. insidiosus. These results indicate that within a short window prior to collection from the field, on the peak date of predation, approximately one third of O. insidiosus in sweet corn had consumed one to two H. zea eggs and/or first instar larvae. The demonstration of this high frequency of predation allows for the assertion that O. insidiosus is a critical mortality agent of H. zea in sweet corn, and conservation biological control practices should be explored to protect and promote this key predator

The integration of single case designs in coaching contexts: A commentary for applied sport psychologists

From personal experiences of working with coaches toward the modification of behaviors and psychological constructs that include motivation, enjoyment, and self-confidence, this commentary highlights how the integration of single case designs can enhance the services of sport psychology practitioners. Interventions within golf, soccer, and tennis are outlined, targeting factors pertinent to the coaches, their players or team members, and the development of relationships with parents. Single case designs are posited as enabling the implementation of personal, evidence-based interventions that yield perceptible differences in cognitive, affective, and behavioral responses within athletic populations; factors that enhance and underpin the practitioner-coach relationship

LOFAR discovery of a 700-kpc remnant radio galaxy at low redshift

Remnant radio galaxies represent the final dying phase of radio galaxy evolution, in which the jets are no longer active. Due to their rarity in flux limited samples and the difficulty of identification, this dying phase remains poorly understood and the luminosity evolution largely unconstrained. Here we present the discovery and detailed analysis of a large (700 kpc) remnant radio galaxy with a low surface brightness that has been identified in LOFAR images at 150 MHz. By combining LOFAR data with new follow-up Westerbork observations and archival data at higher frequencies, we investigated the source morphology and spectral properties from 116 to 4850 MHz. By modelling the radio spectrum we probed characteristic timescales of the radio activity. The source has a relatively smooth, diffuse, amorphous appearance together with a very weak central compact core which is associated with the host galaxy located at z=0.051. From our ageing and morphological analysis it is clear that the nuclear engine is currently switched off or, at most, active at a very low power state. The host galaxy is currently interacting with another galaxy located at a projected separation of 15 kpc and a radial velocity offset of 300 km/s. This interaction may have played a role in the triggering and/or shut down of the radio jets. The spectral shape of this remnant radio galaxy differs from the majority of the previously identified remnant sources, which show steep or curved spectra at low to intermediate frequencies. In light of this finding and in preparation for new-generation deep low-frequency surveys, we discuss the selection criteria to be used to select representative samples of these sources.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures, 5 tables, A&A accepte

Environmental water efficiency: Maximizing benefits and minimizing costs of environmental water use and management

Environmental water management is a relatively new discipline, with concepts, management practice and institutional mechanisms that are still emerging. The efficient and effective use of environmental water to maximize environmental benefits, or environmental water use efficiency, is one such emerging concept. Currently, much of the focus is on allocative efficiency, where the objective is to achieve a better balance between consumptive and environmental water uses in a cost‐effective way. However, this may not provide the most efficient and effective way to manage environmental water in the long term, where managers are seeking productive (or operational) efficiency. Here, the objective is to maximize environmental outcomes relative to the cost of managing the available resource. This paper explores the concept of water use efficiency in the context of environmental water

Metal removal from soil leachates using DTPA-functionalised maghemite nanoparticles, a potential soil washing technology

There is significant current interest in the application of magnetic (magnetite or maghemite) nanoparticles functionalised with chelating agents for the environmental remediation of metal contaminated waters and solutions. Whilst there is a body of knowledge about the potential remediation efficacy of such engineered nanoparticles from studies involving synthetic solutions of single metals, there is relatively little data involving mixed-metal solutions and virtually no studies about nanoparticle performance in chemically complex environmental solutions representing those to which a scaled-up nanoremediation process might eventually be applied. Therefore, we investigated the ability of diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA)-functionalised, silica-coated maghemite nanoparticles to extract potentially toxic (Cd, Co, Cu) and "non-toxic" (Ca, Mg) metals from solution (initial [metal] = 10 mg L ; pH range: 2-8) and to extract a wider range of elements (As, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Mg, Na, Pb, Zn) from leachate obtained from 10 different contaminated soils with variable initial pH, (semi-)metal and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations. The functionalised nanoparticles could extract the potentially toxic metals with high efficiency (in general >70%) from single metal solutions and with efficiencies that were either unaffected or reduced from the soil leachates. K values remained high (>500 L kg ), even for the soil leachate extractions. Our findings show that DOC and relatively high concentrations of non-toxic elements do not necessarily reduce the efficiency of metal contaminant removal by DTPA-functionalised magnetic nanoparticles and thus demonstrate the remediation potential of such particles when added to chemically complex soil-derived contaminated solutions. [Abstract copyright: Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.