Systematic review of the psychometric properties of patient-reported outcome measures for foot and ankle in rheumatoid arthritis

Background Foot problems and pain are common in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Patient-reported outcome measures provide a standardized method of capturing patients’ perspectives of their functional status and wellbeing. There are many instruments specific to people with feet affected by rheumatoid arthritis but knowledge of their psychometric validation or methodological quality is lacking Objectives To identify patient-reported outcome measures specific to the foot and ankle and rheumatoid arthritis and investigate their methodological quality and psychometric properties Design Systematic review. Data source : A search was conducted for psychometric or validation studies on patient-reported outcomes in Rheumatoid Arthritis published in different languages, by examining the Pubmed; Scopus, CINAHL; PEDro and Google Scholar databases. Review methods . The systematic review performed was based on the following inclusion criteria: psychometric or clinimetric validation studies on patient-reported outcomes specific to the foot and ankle that included patients with Rheumatoid arthritis. Two authors independently assessed the quality of the studies and extracted datas Results Of the initial 431 studies, fourteen instruments met the inclusion criteria. Significant methodological flaws were detected in most with only SEFAS met the COSMIN quality criteria. Conclusion SEFAS had the best quality and was ranked most appropriate for use with patients living with Rheumatoid Arthriti

Relationship between Dyslipidemia and Physical Activity in Mexican Children

Purpose: The purpose of this research was to determine the relationship between physical activity and lipid levels in children 10 to 13 years of age living in Durango, Mexico. Method: Cross-sectional study performed in 823 children (n=428, 52% boys; n=395, 48% girls) enrolled in nine elementary schools. Physical activity was monitored in two ways: a) a questionnaire was used to obtain information about physical activity done in the previous week, and b) steps were counted for 24 hours with a Yamax SW-200 pedometer. A subsample of 425 children provided serum samples to determine total-cholesterol (TC), HDL-cholesterol (HDL-C), LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C) and triglycerides (TG). Results: Over half (52.9%) participated in a sports team inside or outside of school; most (90.9%) reported one sport, with few (9.1%) reporting 2-3 sports. The most commonly reported vigorous PA was: soccer (33%), basketball (24%), jogging (8-12 km/h) (23%), volleyball (17%) and others (3%). Those who participated in a sports team had higher levels of HDL-C and lower TG. Participation in 2 or 3 sports reduced TG levels just over 20%. Boys who reported 30 minutes or more per day of vigorous activity had lower triglyceride levels than those who reported less (p = 0.020). Boys accumulated significantly more steps per day (m=17,030 ± 6444) than girls (m=12,991± 5316; p \u3c 0.001). The prevalence of lipid abnormalities was higher in children with fewer steps. Hypercholesterolemia was lower in boys with the highest number of steps (p = 0.044), in girls the differences were not statistically significant. Hypertriglyceridemia in both sexes was lower in the group with the highest number of steps (

Determination of the (3x3)-Sn/Ge(111) structure by photoelectron diffraction

At a coverage of about 1/3 monolayer, Sn deposited on Ge(111) below 550 forms a metastable (sqrt3 x sqrt3)R30 phase. This phase continuously and reversibly transforms into a (3x3) one, upon cooling below 200 K. The photoemission spectra of the Sn 4d electrons from the (3x3)-Sn/Ge(111) surface present two components which are attributed to inequivalent Sn atoms in T4 bonding sites. This structure has been explored by photoelectron diffraction experiments performed at the ALOISA beamline of the Elettra storage ring in Trieste (Italy). The modulation of the intensities of the two Sn components, caused by the backscattering of the underneath Ge atoms, has been measured as a function of the emission angle at fixed kinetic energies and viceversa. The bond angle between Sn and its nearest neighbour atoms in the first Ge layer (Sn-Ge1) has been measured by taking polar scans along the main symmetry directions and it was found almost equivalent for the two components. The corresponding bond lengths are also quite similar, as obtained by studying the dependence on the photoelectron kinetic energy, while keeping the photon polarization and the collection direction parallel to the Sn-Ge1 bond orientation (bond emission). A clear difference between the two bonding sites is observed when studying the energy dependence at normal emission, where the sensitivity to the Sn height above the Ge atom in the second layer is enhanced. This vertical distance is found to be 0.3 Angstroms larger for one Sn atom out of the three contained in the lattice unit cell. The (3x3)-Sn/Ge(111) is thus characterized by a structure where the Sn atom and its three nearest neighbour Ge atoms form a rather rigid unit that presents a strong vertical distortion with respect to the underneath atom of the second Ge layer.Comment: 10 pages with 9 figures, added reference

Surface soft phonon and the root3 x root3 <--> 3 x 3 phase transition in Sn/Ge(111) and Sn/Si(111)

Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations show that the reversible Sn/Ge(111) $\sqrt{3}\times\sqrt{3} \leftrightarrow 3\times3$ phase transition can be described in terms of a surface soft phonon. The isovalent Sn/Si(111) case does not display this transition since the $\sqrt{3}\times\sqrt{3}$ phase is the stable structure at low temperature, although it presents a partial softening of the $3\times3$ surface phonon. The rather flat energy surfaces for the atomic motion associated with this phonon mode in both cases explain the experimental similarities found at room temperature between these systems. The driving force underlying the $\sqrt{3}\times\sqrt{3} \leftrightarrow 3\times3$ phase transition is shown to be associated with the electronic energy gain due to the Sn dangling bond rehybridization.Comment: 4 pages, Revtex, 4 Encapsulated Postscript figures, uses epsf.sty. Final version published in Phys. Rev. Let

Quantum-well states in ultrathin Ag(111) films deposited onto H-passivated Si(111)-(1x1) surfaces

Ag(111) films were deposited at room temperature onto H-passivated Si(111)-(1x1) substrates, and subsequently annealed at 300 C. An abrupt non-reactive Ag/Si interface is formed, and very uniform non-strained Ag(111) films of 6-12 monolayers have been grown. Angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy has been used to study the valence band electronic properties of these films. Well-defined Ag sp quantum-well states (QWS) have been observed at discrete energies between 0.5-2eV below the Fermi level, and their dispersions have been measured along the GammaK, GammaMM'and GammaL symmetry directions. QWS show a parabolic bidimensional dispersion, with in-plane effective mass of 0.38-0.50mo, along the GammaK and GammaMM' directions, whereas no dispersion has been found along the GammaL direction, indicating the low-dimensional electronic character of these states. The binding energy dependence of the QWS as a function of Ag film thickness has been analyzed in the framework of the phase accumulation model. According to this model, a reflectivity of 70% has been estimated for the Ag-sp states at the Ag/H/Si(111)-(1x1) interface.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

SSDSS IV MaNGA - Properties of AGN host galaxies

We present here the characterization of the main properties of a sample of 98 AGN host galaxies, both type-II and type-I, in comparison with those of about 2700 non-active galaxies observed by the MaNGA survey. We found that AGN hosts are morphologically early-type or early-spirals. For a given morphology AGN hosts are, in average, more massive, more compact, more central peaked and rather pressurethan rotational-supported systems. We confirm previous results indicating that AGN hosts are located in the intermediate/transition region between star-forming and non-star-forming galaxies (i.e., the so-called green valley), both in the ColorMagnitude and the star formation main sequence diagrams. Taking into account their relative distribution in terms of the stellar metallicity and oxygen gas abundance and a rough estimation of their molecular gas content, we consider that these galaxies are in the process of halting/quenching the star formation, in an actual transition between both groups. The analysis of the radial distributions of the starformation rate, specific star-formation rate, and molecular gas density shows that the quenching happens from inside-out involving both a decrease of the efficiency of the star formation and a deficit of molecular gas. All the intermediate data-products used to derive the results of our analysis are distributed in a database including the spatial distribution and average properties of the stellar populations and ionized gas, published as a Sloan Digital Sky Survey Value Added Catalog being part of the 14th Data Release: http://www.sdss.org/dr14/manga/manga-data/manga-pipe3d-value-added-catalog/Comment: 48 pages, 14 figures, in press in RMxA

Systematic review of the psychometric properties of patient-reported outcome measures for rheumatoid arthritis in the foot and ankle

Objective: To identify self-reported outcome measures specific to the foot and ankle in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and to investigate the methodological quality and psychometric properties of these measures. Method: A systematic review focusing on patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Setting: The search was conducted in the PubMed, SCOPUS, CINAHL, PEDro and Google Scholar databases, based on the following inclusion criteria: population (with rheumatoid arthritis) > 18 years; psychometric or clinimetric validation studies of patient-reported outcomes specific to the foot and ankle, in different languages, with no time limit. Two of the present authors independently assessed the quality of the studies located and extracted the relevant data. Terwee’s criteria and the COSMIN checklist were employed to ensure adequate methodological quality. Results: Of the initial 431 studies considered, 14 met the inclusion criteria, representing 7,793 patients (56.8 years). These instruments were grouped into three dimensions (pain, perceived health status and quality of life and disability). The time to complete any of the PROMs varies around 15 minutes. PROMs criterias with the worst scores by COSMIN, 92.85% and 85.71% were criterion validity, measurement error, internal consistency and responsiveness. 28.57% of PROMs were compared with the measurement properties. Conclusion: the Self-Reported Foot and Ankle Score achieved the highest number of positive criteria (according to Terwee and COSMIN), and is currently the most appropriate for patients with Rheumatoid arthritis

Patrones de participación y logro en un MOOC de Saberes Digitales para Docentes en servicio de México

Participation patterns and completion rates of a MOOC on Digital Knowledge for Teachers with over 8000 students were investigated in this article using descriptive statistics and cluster analysis according to age, gender and previous educational attainment. Results indicate that older and more educated participants obtained higher completion rates and employed more often the discussion forum. No gender differences were obtained. Participation in the course followed a funnel model in which there is a steep decrease of involvement after the first activity which stabilizes in the fifth one. The course rested on a basis of trust assuming that each participant voluntarily enrolled with the purpose of learning and therefore considering his/her self-perception of course performance as one element of overall appraisal is consistent with these courses

Energy Intake, Macronutrient Profile and Food Sources of Spanish Children Aged One to < 10 Years-Results from the EsNuPI Study

The present study aimed to assess energy intake, nutrient profile and food sources in Spanish children participating in the EsNuPI ("Estudio Nutricional en Poblacion Infantil Espanola") study. Plausibility of energy intake and adequacy of nutrient intakes to international recommendations were analyzed in a final sample of 1448 subjects (728 boys and 720 girls) and one group representative of the 1 to <10 years old urban Spanish children (reference sample (n = 707)) who consumed milk and one of the same age who consumed adapted milk over the last year (adapted milk consumers sample (n = 741)) were compared. Both groups completed data of a face-to-face and a telephone 24-h dietary recalls. Both the reference and the adapted milk consumers samples reported an adequate daily energy intake (1503 kcal/day and 1404 kcal/day); and a high contribution to total energy from protein (16.5% and 15.6%) and fat (36.5% and 35.9%). Also, a high percentage of children from both samples were below the lower limit of the recommendations for carbohydrates (47.8% and 39.3%). As the percentage of plausible energy reporters was high for both groups (84.7% and 83.5%, respectively), data for the whole sample were analyzed. Milk and dairy, cereals, meat and derived products, fats and oils, bakery and pastry, fruits and vegetables contributed to about 80% of the total energy intake in both groups. However, the reference sample reported significantly more contribution to energy from cereals, meat and meat products, bakery and pastry and ready to cook/eat foods; meanwhile, the adapted milk consumers sample reported significantly more energy from milk and dairy products, fruits and eggs. Those results suggest that adapted milk consumers have better adherence to the food-based dietary guidelines. Further analyses are warranted to characterize food patterns and the quality of the diet in the EsNuPI study population

Timing and Tempo of Early and Successive Adaptive Radiations in Macaronesia

The flora of Macaronesia, which encompasses five Atlantic archipelagos (Azores, Canaries, Madeira, Cape Verde, and Salvage), is exceptionally rich and diverse