A model of applied physiotherapy in patellofemoral pain

Patellofemoral Pain (PFP) is a very common knee condition with various aetiologies. This short communication facilitates a ‘collective’ case study approach that draws together a range of evidence from different ‘cases’. These cases are defined as areas of evidence underpinning PFP management as an applied physiotherapy phenomenon. This communication reports the complexity of PFP in terms of the (i) evidence-base, (ii) the application of clear guidance, (iii) the actions of physiotherapists in the applied field context and (iv) and the fundamental dissonance rather than bridging of the evidence-base and applied practice. A model of applied physiotherapy is presented that articulates how PFP should be viewed as a complex intervention and that a modified Promoting Action on Research Implementation (PARIHS) framework should be utilised to address the deficits of clinical practice

Correlation effects in ionic perovskite crystals

Perovskites are a large family of versatile materials with favourable properties for spintronics and optoelectronics applications. The mineral CaTiO3 defines the archetypal crystal structure of perovskite materials with a general composition ABX3. The structure is ideally cubic, where the largest A cation is found in the centre, a smaller B cation occupies the edge sites and X anions form an octahedron around each B. Various electric and magnetic properties are observed depending on the electronic configurations, the exchange interactions and the crystal geometry formed by substitution of chemical elements or molecules.Our studies concern two classes of perovskite materials, the double perovskite, transition metal oxides LaSr1-xCaxNiReO6 \ua0for x = 0, 1 and the hybrid organometallic perovskite halides (CH3NH3)PbX3 for X = Br, Cl. We have mainly studied these compounds with muon spectroscopy (μ+SR), using muons as a magnetic probe to map the form and evolution of intrinsic electronic and nuclear magnetic fields.The rhenium-based perovskites points of interest are high magnetic transition temperatures along with a variety of metallic or insulating behaviors. In the case of LaSr1-xCaxNiReO6 \ua0, x = 0, 1 we expect the substitution of Sr with Ca to alter the type of exchange interaction between the Ni and Re cations. This incentive drove us to investigate the formation and evolution of magnetic ordering as a function of temperature in both compounds.The hybrid perovskites (CH3NH3)PbX3 , X = Br, Cl belong to the increasingly researched family of organometallic perovskite solar cell materials with long carrier diffusion lengths and a straightforward implementation into devices. However, intrinsic and extrinsic stability issues hinder the progress of application of these compounds. We aimed to indirectly identify intrinsic stability factors in the kinetics of the CH3NH3 molecule and the halide Br, Cl ion diffusion through their effect on the nuclear magnetic field distribution and dynamics

Physiotherapy effectiveness on muscle strength, flexibility, pain and function in patients with patellofemoral pain syndrome

Study objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness on muscle strength, flexibility, pain and function of a six-week physiotherapy treatment for patients with Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome delivered in a district North-West Wales National Health Service Hospital. Methods: 26 patients with Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome (9 males, 16 females) who were referred to the NHS physiotherapy department where asked to complete an AKP Scale and two VASs along with a series of clinical tests that measure lower limb isometric strength and flexibility in two different occasions; The first occasion took place directly after the first treatment session with the physiotherapist; the second occasion took place directly after the last physiotherapy visit which was approximately after 5-8 weeks. Results: The data showed that physiotherapy treatment in patients with PFPS did not improve strength (measured by the lower limb isometric strength tests or flexibility (measured by the modified Thomas and hamstrings flexibility test) however; pain measured by two VASs (one for usual pain and one for pain on the day of the assessment) and function measured by the AKP Scale function, were significantly improved (VASs p<0.02 & AKP Scale p<0.01 ). Conclusions: This study reported that physiotherapy treatment in patients with PFPS works, not through strength and flexibility but through other components. There are several possible explanations for the results of this study. Future studies should aim to identify the different treatment components and which of these really work for patients with PFPS

Is there life in Virtual Globes?

Virtual globes have been widely used during last decade mainly for simulating observations of the earth from the outer space and navigation experiences over its surface which may be portrayed with various types of views and textures. The present work aims to extend virtual globe capabilities by incorporating three dimensional events on them. Such events may include animation and motion effects on 3D models representing real world living or inanimate spatial objects, modeling of natural resources and phenomena representations and any type of geovisualized activities and demonstrations

Quantitative risk analysis for road tunnels complying with EU regulations

Tunnels have improved the connection of regions within the European Commission (EC) and have been used lately as a catalyst for economic development of previously isolated regions. However, the increasing number of these important infrastructures is raising upfront an endogenous problem, which is the severity of accidents that may occur. These risks have much greater impact when heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) or dangerous goods (DGs) are involved in the accident. As a result, the EC launched the EC Directive 2004/54/EC. In order to achieve a minimum acceptable level of safety, the EC Directive 2004/54/EC suggests, apart from the measures imposed based on tunnel characteristics, the implementation of a risk analysis in cases such as the opening of the road tunnel to DGs. The most widely accepted method for such quantitative risk analysis (QRA) is the OECD/PIARC QRA Model. This research exploits the QRA Model to perform a QRA for five illustrative cases in order to explore the sufficiency of the minimum tunnel safety measures imposed by the Directive when transportation of HGVs and DGs is allowed through the tunnel. The research concludes that, at least for tunnels with marginal values of the EC Directive classes for length and traffic, the risk exposure (F/N curves) lays over the acceptable safety limits of ALARP (as low as reasonably practicable) models. Thus, the manager of the tunnel should take seriously into account the provision of the Directive for further risk analysis and consider more safety measures as well as take into account the risk associated with the alternative routes

Perceptions of physiotherapists of their role in reducing pain and increasing, function, strength and flexibility in patients with Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome

Study objectives: The purpose of this focus group study was to establish the physiotherapy treatment of Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome in North-West Wales. In addition the study aimed to report the barriers that stopped physiotherapists from increasing strength and flexibility and the contradictions of physiotherapists’ beliefs regarding their practice. Methods: The investigation was based on specific and priori designed questions. Two focus groups were conducted, where physiotherapists discussed the results of a feasibility study conducted in their department. 11 hypotheses discussed whilst 13 evidence statements reported by the merger of the answers to the hypotheses. A level of consensus was described using the moderator’s notes. Results: Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome physiotherapy works; not through strength and flexibility but through pain and function improvement. However, this practice often only has a short-term effect. Conclusions: Group classes and better education on the importance of specific exercises and self-managing should be researched whilst the long-term effect of these treatment components should also be assessed

On theoretical pricing of options with fuzzy estimators

AbstractIn this paper we present an application of a new method of constructing fuzzy estimators for the parameters of a given probability distribution function, using statistical data. This application belongs to the financial field and especially to the section of financial engineering. In financial markets there are great fluctuations, thus the element of vagueness and uncertainty is frequent. This application concerns Theoretical Pricing of Options and in particular the Black and Scholes Options Pricing formula. We make use of fuzzy estimators for the volatility of stock returns and we consider the stock price as a symmetric triangular fuzzy number. Furthermore we apply the Black and Scholes formula by using adaptive fuzzy numbers introduced by Thiagarajah et al. [K. Thiagarajah, S.S. Appadoo, A. Thavaneswaran, Option valuation model with adaptive fuzzy numbers, Computers and Mathematics with Applications 53 (2007) 831–841] for the stock price and the volatility and we replace the fuzzy volatility and the fuzzy stock price by possibilistic mean value. We refer to both cases of call and put option prices according to the Black & Scholes model and also analyze the results to Greek parameters. Finally, a numerical example is presented for both methods and a comparison is realized based on the results