bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
National Profile of Physical Therapists in Critical Care Units of Sri Lanka: Lower Middle-Income Country
Authors: Sigera Ponsuge Chathurani , Tunpattu Tunpattu Mudiyanselage Upul Sanjeewa , Jayashantha Thambawitage Pasan , De Silva Ambepitiyawaduge Pubudu , Athapattu Priyantha Lakmini , Dondorp Arjen , Haniffa Rashan 
Published: February 2016

Abstract

Background
The availability and role of physical therapists in critical care is variable in resource-poor settings, including lower middle-income countries.

Objective
The aim of this study was to determine: (1) the availability of critical care physical therapist services, (2) the equipment and techniques used and needed, and (3) the training and continuous professional development of physical therapists.

Methods
All physical therapists working in critical care units (CCUs) of state hospitals in Sri Lanka were contacted. The study tool used was an interviewer-administered telephone questionnaire.

Results
The response rate was 100% (N=213). Sixty-one percent of the physical therapists were men. Ninety-four percent of the respondents were at least diploma holders in physical therapy, and 6% had non–physical therapy degrees. Most (n=145, 68%) had engaged in some continuous professional development in the past year. The majority (n=119, 56%) attended to patients after referral from medical staff. Seventy-seven percent, 98%, and 96% worked at nights, on weekends, and on public holidays, respectively. Physical therapists commonly perform manual hyperinflation, breathing exercises, manual airway clearance techniques, limb exercises, mobilization, positioning, and postural drainage in the CCUs. Lack of specialist training, lack of adequate physical therapy staff numbers, a heavy workload, and perceived lack of infection control in CCUs were the main difficulties they identified.

Limitations
Details on the proportions of time spent by the physical therapists in the CCUs, wards, or medical departments were not collected.

Conclusions
The availability of physical therapist services in CCUs in Sri Lanka, a lower middle-income country, was comparable to that in high-income countries, as per available literature, in terms of service availability and staffing, although the density of physical therapists remained very low, critical care training was limited, and resource limitations to physical therapy practices were evident.
Utilization of the Expanded Disability Status Scale as a distinctive instrument for walking impairment in persons with multiple sclerosis with mild disability
Authors: Kahraman Turhan , Savci Sema , Coskuner Poyraz Esra , Ozakbas Serkan , Idiman Egemen 
Published: February 2016

BACKGROUND: The Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) is a well-established clinical measure to assess disability in multiple sclerosis (MS). Gait dysfunction is primarily considered for scoring only above EDSS 3.5. However, the changes in functional systems in below EDSS 3.5 may result gait disturbances. OBJECTIVE: To determine the distinctive ability of the EDSS 2.0 in terms of walking impairment as well as fatigue, depression, and quality of life in persons with MS with mild disability. METHODS: All participants underwent the neurological examination for generating an EDSS score and completed the measures of walking performance, as well as other measures of fatigue, depression, and quality of life. The participants were divided into two groups according to the EDSS scores (i.e. EDSS <2.0 and 2.0–3.5). RESULTS: Participants with EDSS 2.0–3.5 had significantly worse walking performance, as well as fatigue, depression, and quality of life levels than the participants with EDSS <2.0 ( p <  0.05). The EDSS significantly correlated with the measures of walking performance, as well as other measures of fatigue, depression, and quality of life. CONCLUSIONS: The EDSS 2.0 has a distinctive ability in terms of walking impairment as well as fatigue, depression, and quality of life.
Transvertebral direct current stimulation paired with locomotor training in chronic spinal cord injury: A case study
Authors: Powell Elizabeth Salmon , Carrico Cheryl , Raithatha Ravi , Salyers Emily , Ward Andrea , Sawaki Lumy 
Published: February 2016

STUDY DESIGN: This double-blind, sham-controlled, crossover case study combined transvertebral direct current stimulation (tvDCS) and locomotor training on a robot-assisted gait orthosis (LT-RGO). OBJECTIVE: Determine whether cathodal tvDCS paired with LT-RGO leads to greater changes in function and neuroplasticity than sham tvDCS paired with LT-RGO. SETTING: University of Kentucky (UK) HealthCare Stroke and Spinal Cord Neurorehabilitation Research at HealthSouth Cardinal Hill Hospital. METHODS: A single subject with motor incomplete spinal cord injury (SCI) participated in 24 sessions of sham tvDCS paired with LT-RGO before crossover to 24 sessions of cathodal tvDCS paired with LT-RGO. Functional outcomes were measured with 10 Meter Walk Test (10MWT), 6 Minute Walk Test (6MWT), Spinal Cord Independence Measure-III (SCIM-III) mobility component, lower extremity manual muscle test (MMT), and Berg Balance Scale (BBS). Corticospinal changes were assessed using transcranial magnetic stimulation. RESULTS: Improvement in 10MWT speed, SCIM-III mobility component, and BBS occurred with both conditions. 6MWT worsened after sham tvDCS and improved after cathodal tvDCS. MMT scores for both lower extremities improved following sham tvDCS but decreased following cathodal tvDCS. Corticospinal excitability increased following cathodal tvDCS but not sham tvDCS. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that combining cathodal tvDCS and LT-RGO may improve functional outcomes, increase corticospinal excitability, and possibly decrease spasticity. Randomized controlled trials are needed to confirm these conclusions. SPONSORSHIP: This publication was supported by the National Center for Research Resources and the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, through Grant UL1TR000117, and the HealthSouth Cardinal Hill Stroke and Spinal Cord Endowment (1215375670).
Participation in leisure activities after stroke: A survey of community-residing stroke survivors in Nigeria
Authors: Vincent-Onabajo Grace , Blasu Cephas 
Published: February 2016

BACKGROUND: Leisure provides pleasure and relaxation, and has health benefits even after a stressful and life-changing event such as a stroke. OBJECTIVE: This study examined leisure participation among a sample of community-residing stroke survivors in Nigeria. METHODS: Fifty-five stroke survivors undergoing rehabilitation were consecutively recruited from two government hospitals in Northern Nigeria. Data on pre- and post-stroke participation, and socio-demographic (age, sex, marital, employment, and educational status) and clinical (level of disability, post-stroke duration, stroke type and side of hemiplegia/hemiparesis) attributes of the stroke survivors were obtained. Leisure participation was assessed in four domains of recreational, social, cognitive, and productive/creative activities. Associations between leisure participation and the socio-demographic and clinical variables were examined using bivariate analysis. RESULTS: Mean (SD) age of the stroke survivors was 53.55 (14.39) years. Prevalence of leisure participation was 89.1%. Participation in specific leisure domains however varied thus: social (83.6%), cognitive (60%), recreational (41.8%), productive/creative activities (30.9%). Significant associations were observed between participation in cognitive, productive/creative, and recreational leisure activities, and specific socio-demographic and clinical attributes. CONCLUSIONS: Leisure participation was high in a general sense but marginal in recreational and productive/creative activities. The observed socio-demographic and clinical associations with post-stroke leisure participation may assist in providing effective leisure rehabilitation strategies.
Using reliability of change analysis to evaluate post-acute neuro-rehabilitation
Authors: Palmer Christina , Kneebone Ian I. , Strauss Clara , Jones Anna-Marie 
Published: February 2016

BACKGROUND: It is important to evaluate change in order to re-assure commissioners, staff and patients of the effectiveness of interventions, but also in order to identify areas for improvement. OBJECTIVE: To consider whether analysis of improvement at the level of the individual, taking into account measurement error, may offer a further valuable way to assess change and inform service development over considering change at the group level in a post-acute neuro-rehabilitation unit. METHOD: Pre and post intervention Scores on the FIM+FAM Full Scale and Cognitive and Motor subscales were considered for eighteen patients aged between 35 and 81 with mixed diagnoses who attended a post-acute inpatient neuro-rehabilitation unit for treatment. RESULTS: Statistically significant improvements were achieved on the FIM+FAM Full Scale and Cognitive and Motor subscales in a whole group analysis. Reliable change analyses for each patient within each subscale however identified only half of the sample achieved reliable improvement within the Motor domain and just one person within the Cognitive domain (5.6%). CONCLUSIONS: Findings are consistent with the emphasis of the rehabilitation unit on physical/motor function, and unsurprising as many of those assessed had multiple sclerosis, an often deteriorative condition. Use of reliable change analysis allowed a more detailed understanding of intervention impact, potentially identifying what services reliably work for whom, thereby informing future planning.
A CONSTRAINT ON QUASAR CLUSTERING AT z = 5 FROM A BINARY QUASAR*
Authors: McGreer Ian D. , Eftekharzadeh Sarah , Myers Adam D. , Fan Xiaohui 
Published: February 2016

ABSTRACT
We report the discovery of a quasar pair at z = 5 separated by 21″. Both objects were identified as quasar candidates using simple color selection techniques applied to photometric catalogs from the Canada–France–Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) Legacy Survey (CFHTLS). Spectra obtained with the MMT present no discernible offset in redshift between the two objects; on the other hand, there are clear differences in the emission line profiles and in the multiwavelength spectral energy distributions that strongly disfavor the hypothesis that they are gravitationally lensed images of a single quasar. Both quasars are surprisingly bright given their proximity (a projected separation of ∼135 kpc), with i = 19.4 and i = 21.4. Previous measurements of the luminosity function demonstrate that luminous quasars are extremely rare at z = 5; the existence of this pair suggests that quasars have strong small-scale clustering at high redshift. Assuming a real-space correlation function of the form ξ(r) ∝ (r/r
0)−2, this discovery implies a correlation length of r
0 ≳ 20h
−1 Mpc, consistent with a rapid strengthening of quasar clustering at high redshift as seen in previous observations and predicted by theoretical models where feedback effects are inefficient at shutting down black hole growth at high redshift.
A MULTIRATE VARIABLE-TIMESTEP ALGORITHM FOR N-BODY SOLAR SYSTEM SIMULATIONS WITH COLLISIONS
Authors: Sharp P. W. , Newman W. I. 
Published: February 2016

ABSTRACT
We present and analyze the performance of a new algorithm for performing accurate simulations of the solar system when collisions between massive bodies and test particles are permitted. The orbital motion of all bodies at all times is integrated using a high-order variable-timestep explicit Runge–Kutta Nyström (ERKN) method. The variation in the timestep ensures that the orbital motion of test particles on eccentric orbits or close to the Sun is calculated accurately. The test particles are divided into groups and each group is integrated using a different sequence of timesteps, giving a multirate algorithm. The ERKN method uses a high-order continuous approximation to the position and velocity when checking for collisions across a step. We give a summary of the extensive testing of our algorithm. In our largest simulation—that of the Sun, the planets Earth to Neptune and 100,000 test particles over 100 million years—the relative error in the energy after 100 million years was of the order of 10−11.
SIMULTANEOUS OBSERVATIONS OF GIANT PULSES FROM PULSAR PSR B0031-07 AT 38 AND 74 MHz
Authors: Tsai Jr-Wei , Simonetti John H. , Bear Brandon , Gough Jonathan D. , Newton Joseph R. , Kavic Michael 
Published: February 2016

ABSTRACT
The first station of the Long Wavelength Array was used to study PSR B0031-07 with simultaneous observations at 38 and 74 MHz. We found that 158 (0.35%) of the observed pulses at 38 MHz and 221 (0.49%) of the observed pulses at 74 MHz qualified as giant pulses (GPs) in a total of 12 hr of observations. GPs are defined as having flux densities of a factor of ≥90 times that of an average pulse (AP) at 38 MHz and ≥80 times that of an AP at 74 MHz. The cumulative distribution of pulse strength follows a power law, with an index of −4.2 at 38 MHz and −4.9 at 74 MHz. This distribution has a much more gradual slope than would be expected if observing the tail of a Gaussian distribution of normal pulses. The dispersion measure (DM) value which resulted in the largest signal to noise for dedispersed pulses was DM = 10.9 pc cm−3. No other transient pulses were detected in the data in the wide DM range from 1 to 5000 pc cm−3. There were 12 GPs detected within the same period from both 38 and 74 MHz, meaning that the majority of them are not generated in a wide band.
PHOTOMETRIC AND PERIOD INVESTIGATION OF THE LATE F-TYPE OVERCONTACT BINARY II UMa
Authors: Zhou X. , Qian S.-B. , Zhang J. , Zhang B. , Kreiner J. 
Published: February 2016

ABSTRACT
II UMa is a late F-type (F5) contact binary with a close-in tertiary and a distant visual companion. According to the four-color (B V R

c

I

c
) light curves’ solutions of II UMa, it is a high fill-out (f =

) and low-mass ratio (q = 0.172) contact binary system, which indicates that it is at the late evolutionary stage of late-type tidal-locked binary stars. The masses of the primary star and secondary star are calculated to be

and

. The primary star has evolved from the zero-age main sequence, but it still appeared before the terminal-age main sequence, and the secondary star is even more evolved. Considering the mass ratio (

) obtained by spectroscopic observations, the mass of the close-in tertiary is estimated to be

. The period variations of the binary system are investigated for the first time. According to the observed–calculated (O−C) curve analysis, a continuous period increase at a rate of

is determined. The parabolic variation in the O−C curve may be part of a cyclic period of change, or the combined period of change of a parabolic variation and a cyclic one. More instances of minimum light are needed to confirm this. The presence of the tertiary component may play an important role in the formation and evolution of this binary system by drawing angular momentum from the central system during the pre-contact stage.
REVERBERATION MAPPING WITH INTERMEDIATE-BAND PHOTOMETRY: DETECTION OF BROAD-LINE Hα TIME LAGS FOR QUASARS AT 0.2 < z < 0.4
Authors: Jiang Linhua , Shen Yue , McGreer Ian D. , Fan Xiaohui , Morganson Eric , Windhorst Rogier A. 
Published: February 2016

ABSTRACT
We present a reverberation mapping (RM) experiment that combines broad- and intermediate-band photometry; it is the first such attempt targeting 13 quasars at 0.2 < z < 0.9. The quasars were selected to have strong Hα or Hβ emission lines that are located in one of three intermediate bands (with FWHM around 200 Å) centered at 8045, 8505, and 9171 Å. The imaging observations were carried out in the intermediate bands and the broad i and z bands using the prime-focus imager 90Prime on the 2.3 m Bok telescope. Because of the large (∼1 deg2) field of view (FOV) of 90Prime, we included the 13 quasars within only five telescope pointings or fields. The five fields were repeatedly observed over 20–30 epochs that were unevenly distributed over a duration of 5–6 months. The combination of the broad- and intermediate-band photometry allows us to derive accurate light curves for both optical continuum emission (from the accretion disk) and line emission (from the broad-line region, or BLR). We detect Hα time lags between the continuum and line emission in six quasars. These quasars are at relatively low redshifts 0.2 < z < 0.4. The measured lags are consistent with the current BLR size–luminosity relation for Hβ at z < 0.3. While this experiment appears successful in detecting lags of the bright Hα line, further investigation is required to see if it can also be applied to the fainter Hβ line for quasars at higher redshifts. Finally we demonstrate that, by using a small telescope with a large FOV, intermediate-band photometric RM can be efficiently executed for a large sample of quasars at z > 0.2.
A UNIFIED FRAMEWORK FOR THE ORBITAL STRUCTURE OF BARS AND TRIAXIAL ELLIPSOIDS
Authors: Valluri Monica , Shen Juntai , Abbott Caleb , Debattista Victor P. 
Published: February 2016

ABSTRACT
We examine a large random sample of orbits in two self-consistent simulations of N-body bars. Orbits in these bars are classified both visually and with a new automated orbit classification method based on frequency analysis. The well-known prograde x1 orbit family originates from the same parent orbit as the box orbits in stationary and rotating triaxial ellipsoids. However, only a small fraction of bar orbits (∼4%) have predominately prograde motion like their periodic parent orbit. Most bar orbits arising from the x1 orbit have little net angular momentum in the bar frame, making them equivalent to box orbits in rotating triaxial potentials. In these simulations a small fraction of bar orbits (∼7%) are long-axis tubes that behave exactly like those in triaxial ellipsoids: they are tipped about the intermediate axis owing to the Coriolis force, with the sense of tipping determined by the sign of their angular momentum about the long axis. No orbits parented by prograde periodic x2 orbits are found in the pure bar model, but a tiny population (∼2%) of short-axis tube orbits parented by retrograde x4 orbits are found. When a central point mass representing a supermassive black hole (SMBH) is grown adiabatically at the center of the bar, those orbits that lie in the immediate vicinity of the SMBH are transformed into precessing Keplerian orbits that belong to the same major families (short-axis tubes, long-axis tubes and boxes) occupying the bar at larger radii. During the growth of an SMBH, the inflow of mass and outward transport of angular momentum transform some x1 and long-axis tube orbits into prograde short-axis tubes. This study has important implications for future attempts to constrain the masses of SMBHs in barred galaxies using orbit-based methods like the Schwarzschild orbit superposition scheme and for understanding the observed features in barred galaxies.
A SYMMETRIC INNER CAVITY IN THE HD 141569A CIRCUMSTELLAR DISK
Authors: Mazoyer J. , Boccaletti A. , Choquet É. , Perrin M. D. , Pueyo L. , Augereau J.-C. , Lagrange A.-M. , Debes J. , Wolff S. G. 
Published: February 2016

ABSTRACT
Some circumstellar disks, called transitional or hybrid disks, present characteristics of both protoplanetary disks (significant amount of gas) and debris disks (evolved structures around young main-sequence stars, composed of second generation dust, from collisions between planetesimals). Therefore, they are ideal astrophysical laboratories to witness the last stages of planet formation. The circumstellar disk around HD 141569A was intensively observed and resolved in the past from space, but also from the ground. However, the recent implementation of high contrast imaging systems has opened up new opportunities to re-analyze this object. We analyzed Gemini archival data from the Near-infrared Coronagraphic Imager obtained in 2011 in the H band, using several angular differential imaging techniques (classical ADI, LOCI, KLIP). These images reveal the complex structures of this disk with an unprecedented resolution. We also include archival Hubble Space Telescope images as an independent data set to confirm these findings. Using an analysis of the inner edge of the disk, we show that the inner disk is almost axisymmetrical. The measurement of an offset toward the east observed by previous authors is likely due to the fact that the eastern part of this disk is wider and more complex in substructure. Our precise reanalysis of the eastern side shows several structures, including a splitting of the disk and a small finger detached from the inner edge to the southeast. Finally, we find that the arc at 250 AU is unlikely to be a spiral, at least not at the inclination derived from the first ring, but instead could be interpreted as a third belt at a different inclination. If the very symmetrical inner disk edge is carved by a companion, the data presented here put additional constraints on its position. The observed very complex structures will be confirmed by the new generation of coronagraphic instrument (GPI, SPHERE). However, a full understanding of this system will require gas observations at millimetric wavelengths.
CALIBRATION OF THE MEARTH PHOTOMETRIC SYSTEM: OPTICAL MAGNITUDES AND PHOTOMETRIC METALLICITY ESTIMATES FOR 1802 NEARBY M-DWARFS
Authors: Dittmann Jason A. , Irwin Jonathan M. , Charbonneau David , Newton Elisabeth R. 
Published: February 2016

ABSTRACT
The MEarth Project is a photometric survey systematically searching the smallest stars near the Sun for transiting rocky planets. Since 2008, MEarth has taken approximately two million images of 1844 stars suspected to be mid-to-late M dwarfs. We have augmented this survey by taking nightly exposures of photometric standard stars and have utilized this data to photometrically calibrate the MEarth system, identify photometric nights, and obtain an optical magnitude with 1.5% precision for each M dwarf system. Each optical magnitude is an average over many years of data, and therefore should be largely immune to stellar variability and flaring. We combine this with trigonometric distance measurements, spectroscopic metallicity measurements, and 2MASS infrared magnitude measurements in order to derive a color–magnitude–metallicity relation across the mid-to-late M dwarf spectral sequence that can reproduce spectroscopic metallicity determinations to a precision of 0.1 dex. We release optical magnitudes and metallicity estimates for 1567 M dwarfs, many of which did not have an accurate determination of either prior to this work. For an additional 277 stars without a trigonometric parallax, we provide an estimate of the distance, assuming solar neighborhood metallicity. We find that the median metallicity for a volume-limited sample of stars within 20 pc of the Sun is [Fe/H] = −0.03 ± 0.008, and that 29/565 of these stars have a metallicity of [Fe/H] = −0.5 or lower, similar to the low-metallicity distribution of nearby G dwarfs. When combined with the results of ongoing and future planet surveys targeting these objects, the metallicity estimates presented here will be important for assessing the significance of any putative planet–metallicity correlation.
MECHANICAL ENERGY FLUXES ASSOCIATED WITH SATURATED CORONAL HEATING IN M DWARFS: COMPARISON WITH PREDICTIONS OF A TURBULENT DYNAMO
Authors: Mullan D. J. , MacDonald J. 
Published: February 2016

ABSTRACT
Empirically, the X-ray luminosity L
X from M dwarfs has been found to have an upper limit of about 0.2% of the bolometric flux L
bol. In the limit where magnetic fields in M dwarfs are generated in equipartition with convective motions, we use stellar models to calculate the energy flux of Alfvén waves F
A as a function of depth in the sub-surface convection zone. Since Alfvén waves have the optimal opportunity for wave modes to reach the corona, we suggest that F
A sets an upper limit on the mechanical flux F
mech which causes coronal heating. This suggestion accounts quantitatively for the “saturated” values of L
X/L
bol which have been reported empirically for M dwarfs.