Recommendations for exercise adherence measures in musculoskeletal settings : a systematic review and consensus meeting (protocol)

Background: Exercise programmes are frequently advocated for the management of musculoskeletal disorders; however, adherence is an important pre-requisite for their success. The assessment of exercise adherence requires the use of relevant and appropriate measures, but guidance for appropriate assessment does not exist. This research will identify and evaluate the quality and acceptability of all measures used to assess exercise adherence within a musculoskeletal setting, seeking to reach consensus for the most relevant and appropriate measures for application in research and/or clinical practice settings. Methods/design: There are two key stages to the proposed research. First, a systematic review of the quality and acceptability of measures used to assess exercise adherence in musculoskeletal disorders; second, a consensus meeting. The systematic review will be conducted in two phases and reported in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines to ensure a robust methodology. Phase one will identify all measures that have been used to assess exercise adherence in a musculoskeletal setting. Phase two will seek to identify published and unpublished evidence of the measurement and practical properties of identified measures. Study quality will be assessed against the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement Instruments (COSMIN) guidelines. A shortlist of best quality measures will be produced for consideration during stage two: a meeting of relevant stakeholders in the United Kingdom during which consensus on the most relevant and appropriate measures of exercise adherence for application in research and/or clinical practice settings will be sought. Discussion: This study will benefit clinicians who seek to evaluate patients’ levels of exercise adherence and those intending to undertake research, service evaluation, or audit relating to exercise adherence in the musculoskeletal field. The findings will impact upon new research studies which aim to understand the factors that predict adherence with exercise and which test different adherence-enhancing interventions. PROSPERO reference: CRD4201300621

Illusory Stimuli Can Be Used to Identify Retinal Blind Spots

Background. Identification of visual field loss in people with retinal disease is not straightforward as people with eye disease are frequently unaware of substantial deficits in their visual field, as a consequence of perceptual completion ("filling-in'') of affected areas. Methodology. We attempted to induce a compelling visual illusion known as the induced twinkle after-effect (TwAE) in eight patients with retinal scotomas. Half of these patients experience filling-in of their scotomas such that they are unaware of the presence of their scotoma, and conventional campimetric techniques can not be used to identify their vision loss. The region of the TwAE was compared to microperimetry maps of the retinal lesion. Principal Findings. Six of our eight participants experienced the TwAE. This effect occurred in three of the four people who filled-in their scotoma. The boundary of the TwAE showed good agreement with the boundary of lesion, as determined by microperimetry. Conclusion. For the first time, we have determined vision loss by asking patients to report the presence of an illusory percept in blind areas, rather than the absence of a real stimulus. This illusory technique is quick, accurate and not subject to the effects of filling-in

A Robust Economic Technique for Crosswell Seismic Profiling. Final Report

The objective of this research program was to investigate a novel way to acquire crosswell tomographic data, that being to use a standard surface-positioned seismic energy source stationed inline with two wells that have downhole receiver arrays. This field technique differs from the traditional way that crosswell tomography is done, which requires that a downhole receiver array be in one well and that a downhole seismic source be in a second well. The purpose of the research effort was to evaluate the relative merits of the potential advantages and pitfalls of surface-source crosswell tomography, which some also refer to as twin-receiver-well crosswell tomography. The principal findings were: (1) surface-source crosswell tomography is a viable technology and can be used in appropriate reservoir conditions, (2) raypath modeling should be done to determine if the targeted interwell space is properly illuminated by surface-generated wavefields before proceeding to collect surface-source tomographic data, (3) crosswell data generated by a surface-based source are subject to a greater range of traveltime errors than are data generated by a downhole source, primarily due to shot statics caused by variable weathered layers, and (4) the accuracy and reliability of the interwell tomogram increase as more independent velocity information (sonic logs, velocity checkshots, vertical seismic profiles, downhole-source crosswell data) is available to constrain the inversion. The surface-source approach to crosswell tomography was evaluated by recording twin-receiver well data at the Texaco Borehole Test Site in Humble, Texas

Method of seismic exploration by discriminating horizontal and vertical shear waves

The invention is a method of geophysical exploration using seismic methods. The receivers and the source are rotated to one another, such that the orthogonal excitations of the seismic source are readily differentiated. The differentiation of the differently excited energies can be accomplished in devolving the seismic events and reception of those events into a radial-tangential coordinate system for each receiver source pair. The differentiation of the differently aligned energies allows a greater insight into the volumetric study of the strata making up the prospect volume.Board of Regents, University of Texas Syste

System and method for determining an azimuth of a seismic energy source

The present invention provides a system for, and method of determining an azimuth of a seismic energy source. In one embodiment, the system includes a directional assembly having a mount configured to be coupled to a seismic energy source, a rotatable mass assembly coupled to the mount, a compass rose coupled to one of the mount or the rotatable mass assembly and a direction reference coupled to the other of the mount or the rotatable mass assembly. The compass rose is registered with the direction reference to provide a direction orientation of the rotatable mass assembly with respect to the mount.Board of Regents, University of Texas Syste