Validity and Reliability of the Clinician Rated Drop Vertical Jump Scale in Patients Following Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the validity and reliability of the Clinician Rated Drop Vertical Jump Scale (CR-DVJS) in a population of patients following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR). Patients completed two drop vertical jump tasks at 6 and/or 12-months post-operative. One task was recorded using a motion capture system. Four individuals of varying clinical experience served as raters for the CR-DVJS. Rater scores of valgus collapse did not correlate strongly with motion capture measures of knee abduction moment or angle. However, CR-DVJS scores of trunk and knee flexion did demonstrate an association with 3D measures of trunk (rho=0.4-0.5) and knee (rho\u3e0.5) flexion angle. Intraclass correlation coefficients suggested poor to good (0.4-0.9) inter-rater reliability of overall score, moderate (0.5-0.75) or good (0.75-0.9) intra-rater reliability, and good to excellent (0.75-\u3e0.9) within session test-retest reliability. Further studies are required to draw definitive conclusions prior to clinical implementation

Visualizing Values: A Content Analysis to Conceptualize Value Congruent Video Messages Used in Agricultural Communications

Visual messaging is becoming the new avenue to connect with consumers. The majority of the American public is not connected with agriculture and often questions procedures, practices, and tactics within the industry. Practitioners and researchers have suggested value congruent messages, a type of emotional appeal, may increase attention to agricultural messages. However, limited research has been conducted to define and investigate value congruent messages in agricultural communications. The purpose of this study was to describe the presented messages in videos used in one agricultural advocacy effort, CommonGround’s “Nothing to Fear Here” campaign. This content analysis described the video’s message content and use of value congruent messages. Schwartz Theory of Basic Human Values (2012) was used to identify the values present in each video within the campaign. The values of benevolence, security, self-direction, universalism, and hedonism were common values displayed in the campaign. Message sensation value was calculated, and it was found the videos had moderate levels of emotional arousal. The primary characters in the videos were mothers, farmers, and children. More research should be conducted to explore how the value congruent messages and message sensation value interact to increase a receiver’s level of attitude change after viewing the message

Interpreting Patient Reported Outcomes in Orthopaedic Surgery: A Systematic Review

Background: Reporting methods of patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) vary in orthopaedic surgery literature. While most studies report statistical significance, the interpretation of results would be improved if authors reported confidence intervals (CIs), the minimally clinically important difference (MCID), and number needed to treat (NNT). Objective: To assess the quality and interpretability of reporting the results of PROMs. To evaluate reporting, we will assess the proportion of studies that reported (1) 95% CIs, (2) MCID, and (3) NNT. To evaluate interpretation, we will assess the proportion of studies that discussed results using the MCID or the effect sizes and how they relate to 95% CIs. Methods: We included the top five high impact factor orthopaedic journals (The American Journal of Sports Medicine, Arthroscopy, Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, The Journal of Arthroplasty, and Osteoarthritis and Cartilage) published in 2017, that compared two or more therapies, and used PROMs to report study outcomes. Three sets of independent reviewers participated in screening and data extraction using a standardized form. Results: Our search yielded 1502 studies. Following titles and abstracts screening, 254 studies remained. Following full text screening, 194 eligible studies were included in the final analysis. Data extraction is currently underway. Discussion: Results of trials using PROMs should be completely reported and correctly interpreted. The current trend of reporting results and basing conclusions solely on p-values can lead to inaccurate conclusions and clinical recommendations. Journal guidelines should consider mandating such values in future research

Pathways for nutrient loss to water with emphasis on phosphorus

Teagasc wishes to acknowledge the support of the Environmental Research Technological Development and Innovation (ERTDI) Programme under the Productive Sector Operational Programme which was financed by the Irish Government under the National Development Plan 2000-2006.End of project reportThe main objective of this project was to study phosphorus (P) loss from agricultural land under a range of conditions in Ireland, to quantify the main factors influencing losses and make recommendations on ways to reduce these losses. This report is a synthesis of the main conclusions and recommendations from the results of the studies. The final reports from the individual sub-projects in this project are available from the EPA (www.epa.ie).Environmental Protection Agenc

piN scattering and electromagnetic corrections in the perturbative chiral quark model

We apply the perturbative chiral quark model to give predictions for the electromagnetic O(p^2) low-energy couplings of the ChPT effective Lagrangian that define the electromagnetic mass shifts of nucleons and first-order (e^2) radiative corrections to the piN scattering amplitude. We estimate the leading isospin-breaking correction to the strong energy shift of the pi(-)p atom in the 1s state, which is relevant for the experiment "Pionic Hydrogen" at PSI.Comment: 12 pages, 2 figure

Analysis of Rock Varnish from the Mojave Desert by Handheld Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is a form of optical emission spectroscopy that can be used for the rapid analysis of geological materials in the field under ambient environmental conditions. We describe here the innovative use of handheld LIBS for the in situ analysis of rock varnish. This thinly laminated and compositionally complex veneer forms slowly over time on rock surfaces in dryland regions and is particularly abundant across the Mojave Desert climatic region of east-central California (USA). Following the depth profiling examination of a varnished clast from colluvial gravel in Death Valley in the laboratory, our in situ analysis of rock varnish and visually similar coatings on rock surfaces was undertaken in the Owens and Deep Spring valleys in two contexts, element detection/identification and microchemical mapping. Emission peaks were recognized in the LIBS spectra for the nine elements most abundant in rock varnish—Mn, Fe, Si, Al, Na, Mg, K, Ca and Ba, as well as for H, Li, C, O, Ti, V, Sr and Rb. Focused follow-up laboratory and field studies will help understand rock varnish formation and its utility for weathering and chronological studies