26,788 research outputs found
Patient-oriented and performance-based outcomes after knee autologous chondrocyte implantation: a timeline for the first year of recovery
It is well established that autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI) can require extended recovery postoperatively; however, little information exists to provide clinicians and patients with a timeline for anticipated function during the first year after ACI. Objective: To document the recovery of functional performance of activities of daily living after ACI. Patients: ACI patients (n = 48, 29 male 35.1 ± 8.0 y). Intervention: All patients completed functional tests (weight-bearing squat, walk-across, sit-to-stand, step-up/over, and forward lunge) using the NeuroCom long force plate (Clackamas, OR) and completed patient-reported outcome measures (International Knee Documentation Committee Subjective Knee Evaluation Form, Lysholm, Western Ontario and McMaster Osteoarthritis Index WOMAC, and 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey) preoperatively and 3, 6, and 12 mo postoperatively. Main Outcome Measures: A covariance pattern model was used to compare performance and self-reported outcome across time and provide a timeline for functional recovery after ACI. Results: Participants demonstrated significant improvement in walk-across stride length from baseline (42.0% ± 8.9% height) at 6 (46.8% ± 8.1%) and 12 mo (46.6% ± 7.6%). Weight bearing on the involved limb during squatting at 30°, 60°, and 90° was significantly less at 3 mo than presurgery. Step-up/over time was significantly slower at 3 mo (1.67 ± 0.69 s) than at baseline (1.49 ± 0.33 s), 6 mo (1.51 ± 0.36 s), and 12 mo (1.40 ± 0.26 s). Step-up/over lift-up index was increased from baseline (41.0% ± 11.3% body weight BW) at 3 (45.0% ± 11.7% BW), 6 (47.0% ± 11.3% BW), and 12 mo (47.3% ± 11.6% BW). Forward-lunge time was decreased at 3 mo (1.51 ± 0.44 s) compared with baseline (1.39 ± 0.43 s), 6 mo (1.32 ± 0.05 s), and 12 mo (1.27 ± 0.06). Similarly, forward-lunge impact force was decreased at 3 mo (22.2% ± 1.4% BW) compared with baseline (25.4% ± 1.5% BW). The WOMAC demonstrated significant improvements at 3 mo. All patient-reported outcomes were improved from baseline at 6 and 12 mo postsurgery. Conclusions: Patients' perceptions of improvements may outpace physical changes in function. Decreased function for at least the first 3 mo after ACI should be anticipated, and improvement in performance of tasks requiring weight-bearing knee flexion, such as squatting, going down stairs, or lunging, may not occur for a year or more after surgery
Reading First Impact Study: Interim Report
This report, written by Abt Associates and MDRC and published by the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences, finds that Reading First increased the amount of time that teachers spent on the five essential components of reading instruction, as defined by the National Reading Panel. While Reading First did not improve students' reading comprehension on average, there are some indications that some sites had impacts on both instruction and reading comprehension. An overview puts these interim findings in context
Automated analysis of quantitative image data using isomorphic functional mixed models, with application to proteomics data
Image data are increasingly encountered and are of growing importance in many
areas of science. Much of these data are quantitative image data, which are
characterized by intensities that represent some measurement of interest in the
scanned images. The data typically consist of multiple images on the same
domain and the goal of the research is to combine the quantitative information
across images to make inference about populations or interventions. In this
paper we present a unified analysis framework for the analysis of quantitative
image data using a Bayesian functional mixed model approach. This framework is
flexible enough to handle complex, irregular images with many local features,
and can model the simultaneous effects of multiple factors on the image
intensities and account for the correlation between images induced by the
design. We introduce a general isomorphic modeling approach to fitting the
functional mixed model, of which the wavelet-based functional mixed model is
one special case. With suitable modeling choices, this approach leads to
efficient calculations and can result in flexible modeling and adaptive
smoothing of the salient features in the data. The proposed method has the
following advantages: it can be run automatically, it produces inferential
plots indicating which regions of the image are associated with each factor, it
simultaneously considers the practical and statistical significance of
findings, and it controls the false discovery rate.Comment: Published in at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/10-AOAS407 the Annals of
Applied Statistics (http://www.imstat.org/aoas/) by the Institute of
Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org
Interaction of Phonons and Dirac Fermions on the Surface of Bi2Se3: A Strong Kohn Anomaly
We report the first measurements of phonon dispersion curves on the (001)
surface of the strong three-dimensional topological insulator Bi2Se3. The
surface phonon measurements were carried out with the aid of coherent helium
beam surface scattering techniques. The results reveal a prominent signature of
the exotic metallic Dirac fermion quasi-particles, including a strong Kohn
anomaly. The signature is manifest in a low energy isotropic convex dispersive
surface phonon branch with a frequency maximum of 1.8 THz, and having a
V-shaped minimum at approximately 2kF that defines the Kohn anomaly.
Theoretical analysis attributes this dispersive profile to the renormalization
of the surface phonon excitations by the surface Dirac fermions. The
contribution of the Dirac fermions to this renormalization is derived in terms
of a Coulomb-type perturbation model
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