Relationship between Psychiatric Diagnosis and Functional Outcome in Physical Therapy

Preliminary research suggests that psychiatric illness is associated with poorer functional outcomes in physical therapy (PT), but there is scant research examining this relationship specifically. In this study, the impact of psychiatric diagnosis on functional outcome in PT was investigated. Study design was a retrospective review of medical records. Participants were 310 veterans (age: M = 72.05 years, SD = 11.86; 96% male, 74% White) admitted for inpatient rehabilitation and referred for PT. Statistical analyses included MANCOVA and ANCOVA. Independent variables were mood disorder diagnosis, substance use disorder diagnosis, and any psychiatric diagnosis. Dependent variables were the sum of Functional Independence Measure (FIM) mobility and locomotion subscales (M+L FIM) at discharge, and percent with which participants met their PT treatment goals. Session frequency was entered as a covariate, because prior research indicated that treatment intensity is an independent predictor of functional outcome. Statistical analyses were not statistically significant. Overall, results suggest that historical psychiatric diagnosis is not associated with PT functional outcome. However, limitations in the data and the study\u27s design may explain the null findings. Consistent with prior research, treatment intensity had a statistically and clinically significant relationship with functional outcome, such that more frequent treatment was associated with greater mobility, locomotion, and achieving PT goals at discharge

Predictors of Retention in Physical Therapy: Client-, Disease-, and Treatment-related Factors

OBJECTIVES: The objectives of the study are to (1) document the incidence of veterans who prematurely terminate physical therapy before medically indicated, and (2) identify reliable predictors of treatment retention and attrition. The potential benefit of this study is the identification of reliable variables that predict who is at risk for terminating physical therapy prematurely, which may lead to targeted interventions designed to increase treatment retention. RESEARCH DESIGN: This study will be a retrospective design involving a review of medical records of veterans receiving referral to physical therapy. METHODOLOGY: Multinomial logistic regression (MLR) will be used to examine the effects of patient variables (e.g,. demographics), illness variables (e.g., symptom severity, functional impairment), and treatment variables (e.g., length and frequency of sessions) on treatment retention status (i.e., successful completion, premature termination with good reason, or premature termination without good reason). Because this study involves a review of records, there is no clinic setting in which participants are recruited. However, patient cases to be reviewed involve those referred for physical therapy, regardless of on which inpatient unit they reside. Approximately 300-800 patient cases will be reviewed, to remain consistent with the literature on studies using MLR. Patient cases will be selected if they meet the following inclusion criteria (1) referred for physical therapy; (2) cognitively intact at time of referral (i.e., no indication of delirium or dementia); (3) able to make medical decisions (i.e., no activated DPOA); and not actively dying (i.e., no Karnofski Performance Scale score below 30). No a priori hypotheses are provided as this study is exploratory. Implications for research results will be discussed

Temporal patterns in acoustic presence and foraging activity of oceanic dolphins at seamounts in the Azores

© The Author(s), 2020. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Cascao, I., Lammers, M. O., Prieto, R., Santos, R. S., & Silva, M. A. Temporal patterns in acoustic presence and foraging activity of oceanic dolphins at seamounts in the Azores. Scientific Reports, 10(1), (2020): 3610, doi:10.1038/s41598-020-60441-4.Several seamounts have been identified as hotspots of marine life in the Azores, acting as feeding stations for top predators, including cetaceans. Passive acoustic monitoring is an efficient tool to study temporal variations in the occurrence and behaviour of vocalizing cetacean species. We deployed bottom-moored Ecological Acoustic Recorders (EARs) to investigate the temporal patterns in acoustic presence and foraging activity of oceanic dolphins at two seamounts (Condor and Gigante) in the Azores. Data were collected in March–May 2008 and April 2010–February 2011. Dolphins were present year round and nearly every day at both seamounts. Foraging signals (buzzes and bray calls) were recorded in >87% of the days dolphin were present. There was a strong diel pattern in dolphin acoustic occurrence and behaviour, with higher detections of foraging and echolocation vocalizations during the night and of social signals during daylight hours. Acoustic data demonstrate that small dolphins consistently use Condor and Gigante seamounts to forage at night. These results suggest that these seamounts likely are important feeding areas for dolphins. This study contributes to a better understanding of the feeding ecology of oceanic dolphins and provides new insights into the role of seamount habitats for top predators.This research was supported by the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT), Azores 2020 Operational Programme and the Fundo Regional da Ciência e Tecnologia (FRCT), through research projects TRACE (PTDC/MAR/74071/2006), MAPCET (M2.1.2/F/012/2011), FCT-Exploratory (IF/00943/2013/CP1199/CT0001), WATCH IT (Acores-01-0145-FEDER-000057) and MISTIC SEAS II (GA11.0661/2017/750679/SUB/ENV.C2), co-funded by FEDER, COMPETE, QREN, POPH, European Social Fund (ESF), the Portuguese Ministry for Science and Education, and EU-DG/ENV. The Azores 2020 Operational Programme is funded by the community structural funds ERDF and ESF. Funds were also provided by FCT to MARE, through the strategic project UID/MAR/04292/2013. MAS was supported through a FCT Investigator contract funded by POPH, QREN, ESF and the Portuguese Ministry for Science and Education (IF/00943/2013). IC was supported by a FCT doctoral grant (SFRH/BD/41192/2007) and RP by a FCT postdoctoral grant (SFRH/BPD/108007/2015). We thank the field and crew teams for assisting with the many deployments and recoveries of the EARs. Special thanks to Norberto Serpa for helping with mooring design, Ken Sexton and Michael Richlen for their roles in manufacturing the EARs, Sergio Gomes for building the battery packs, and Lisa Munger for adapting Triton for EAR data analysis

Electromagnetic properties of the Delta(1232) and decuplet baryons in the self-consistent SU(3) chiral quark-soliton model

We examine the electromagnetic properties of the Delta(1232) resonance within the self-consistent chiral quark-soliton model. In particular we present the Delta form factors of the vector-current GE0, GE2 and GM1 for a momentum-transfer range of $Q^{2} \leq 1GeV^{2}$. We apply the symmetry-conserving quantization of the soliton and take 1/N_c rotational corrections into account. Values for the magnetic moments of all decuplet baryons as well as for the N-Delta transition are given. Special interest is also given to the electric quadrupole moment of the Delta.Comment: 24 pages, 8 figure

Cluster magnetic fields from large-scale-structure and galaxy-cluster shocks

The origin of the micro-Gauss magnetic fields in galaxy clusters is one of the outstanding problem of modern cosmology. We have performed three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations of the nonrelativistic Weibel instability in an electron-proton plasma, in conditions typical of cosmological shocks. These simulations indicate that cluster fields could have been produced by shocks propagating through the intergalactic medium during the formation of large-scale structure or by shocks within the cluster. The strengths of the shock-generated fields range from tens of nano-Gauss in the intercluster medium to a few micro-Gauss inside galaxy clusters.Comment: 4 pages, 2 color figure

Conducted Emissions Verification Setup Improvement for Space Applications

Just-before-test verification is needed to ensure that electromagnetic interference measurements are correctly performed. Some standards cover such specific requirements regarding test verification, this is the case of the ECSS-E-ST-20-07c for space applications. However, some drawbacks in the standard procedure have been identified, and in this work, we provide advice for improving the conducted emissions verification. For instance, we argue that the complete frequency range of the test should be evaluated during the verification of the test equipment, not just two single frequencies. Likewise, it is demonstrated how the standard verification setup introduces a significant mismatch that can compromise the accuracy of the result. Moreover, this work highlights the capabilities of novel instrumentation like high-end oscilloscopes that effectively provide convenient alternatives to improve further and simplify the measurement methodology while achieving even more accurate results if applied correctly.This work was supported in part by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 801342 (TecniospringINDUSTRY) and the Government of Catalonia's Agency for Business Competitiveness (ACCIÓ) and in part by the Spanish "Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación" under project PID2019- 106120RBC31/AEI/10.13039/501100011033. EMC Barcelona's project under grant number SNEO-20211223 has received funding from CDTI, which is supported by "Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación" and financed by the European Union – NextGenerationEU – through the guidelines included in the "Plan de Recuperación, Transformación y Resiliencia." Dr. Azpúrua has received funding from the StandICT.eu 2023 project, financed by the European Union's Horizon Europe - Research and Innovation Programme - under grant agreement no. 951972

As if economics mattered: market failure, positive externalities, HEI and the contributions from philosophy of education

Trabalho apresentado em 1º Encontro de Economia Política, 25-27 Janeiro de 2018, Lisboa, PortugalN/