Relationship between use of ankle-foot orthoses and quality of life and psychological well being : a research plan

An ankle-foot orthosis (AFO) is an externally applied device that encompasses the joints of the ankle and foot, used to modify the structural and functional characteristics of the neuromuscular and skeletal systems(ISO,1989,a&b). AFOs are prescribed for people who have a loss of function affecting their mobility, experienced in wide range of conditions such as stroke, poliomyelitis, cerebral palsy, spina bifida and osteoarthritis

The prevalence and characteristics of relational depth events in psychotherapy

We introduce two complementary measures of relational depth, defined as a state of profound contact and engagement between client and therapist. Using an internet-based survey of client and therapist accounts (n = 342), judges rated relational depth as present in over a third of significant therapy event descriptions. Participants also completed the Relational Depth Inventory (RDI), for which we report reliability, validity and factor structure. Relational depth events were more likely to occur in the presence of strong therapeutic alliance, and with female participants, but client or therapist role and therapy duration were not related to relational depth content or RDI. RDI items for connectedness, love, respect and intimacy were most strongly associated with relational depth content

Developing the adjudicated case study method

In this commentary we discuss Miller’s Panel of Psychological Inquiry (PPI) and Bohart’s Research Jury method approaches to the development of the adjudicated case study method, as represented by the papers assembled for this issue of Pragmatic Case Studies in Psychotherapy. In our view, the case studies presented here demonstrate the rapidly developing potential offered by this approach for psychotherapy research and reveal many parallels to recent research using the Hermeneutic Single Case Efficacy Design (HSCED) model. In our view, each of the three models has taken significant steps forward in adapting particular aspects of the legal process as viable psychotherapy research procedures. In this commentary we summarize the HSCED method, then take readers through the issues of the sources of the evidence used; ways in which that evidence is tested; claims, burden and standard of proof; and the handling of the adjudication process itself. We conclude with recommendations for further development of adjudicated case study methods

Person-centred therapy with a client experiencing social anxiety difficulties : a hermeneutic single case efficacy design

Social anxiety is a chronic, debilitating psychological condition. Hermeneutic Single Case Efficacy Design (HSCED) is a legalistic mixed-method case study method for evaluating therapy efficacy in single cases. Using a case of Person-Centred Therapy (PCT) with a client experiencing social anxiety difficulties, we addressed the standard HSCED research questions of pre-post client change, causal role of therapy, and change processes. In addition, we explored adaptations to HSCED for ambiguous outcomes. Based on a rich case record, affirmative and sceptic cases were constructed and adjudicated by three judges.The judges held that the client changed considerably (but not substantially) and that therapy contributed considerably to client change. Change processes central to PCT were held to be active, as were client resources. The new procedures enabled judges to make sense of the ambiguous outcome data and can be further extended and developed. PCT can bring about considerable change in socially anxious clients

A cross-sectional examination of the mental and social well-being of older female Scottish country dancers and physically active non-dancers

It has been established that conventional forms of physical activity such as walking, jogging and swimming can help maintain the mental and social well-being of older individuals. However, there have been few attempts to determine whether dance participation offers the same benefits. This study compared measures of mental and social well-being between Scottish country dancers and physically active non-dancers. Scores were recorded for the Warwick-Edinburg Mental Well-Being Scale, Satisfaction with Life Scale, EQ-5D, Lubben Social Network Scale and General Perceived Self-Efficacy Scale. There was no significant difference between the two groups for any of the measures. However, the outcomes compare favorably with the available population norms. As such, Scottish country dance might be a viable alternative to the more conventional exercise forms for active older females

Use of the ICF to investigate impairment, activity limitation and participation restriction in people using ankle-foot orthoses to manage mobility disabilities

This study investigated differences in impairment, activity limitation, participation restrictions and psychological distress between participants using ankle-foot orthoses (AFOs) as recommended, participants who did not use AFOs as recommended and participants who did not know recommendations for use.  Adults (n = 157) fitted with an AFO by an NHS Orthotic Service in Scotland completed a postal questionnaire that measured impairment, activity limitations participation restrictions and psychological distress using scales from the RAND 36-Item Health Survey 1.0 and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS).  41% of participants used their AFOs as recommended, 32% did not use their AFOs as recommended and 27% did not know the recommendations for use. Participants using AFOs as recommended reported lower levels of impairment and activity limitations, indicated by higher energy levels (p = 0.005), higher physical functioning (p = 0.005), lower role-limitations due to emotional problems (p = 0.001) and lower levels of anxiety (p = 0.003) compared to people not using AFOs as recommended.  Health professionals need to ensure whether patients understand the recommendations for use of their AFO. Additionally, the results of the study support the value of evaluating patients' psychological well-being to gain a better understanding of AFO use. Implications for Rehabilitation Participants who reported using AFOs as recommended had significantly lower levels of impairment, activity limitations and anxiety compared to those who did not use their AFO as recommended. In this study, 27% of participants did not know recommendations for use of AFOs. Health professionals should give consideration as to how information, regarding wearing instructions and use of AFOs, is provided to people who are prescribed AFOs. Psychological outcomes in orthotics are rarely assessed. However, this study demonstrates there is a value in measuring psychological outcomes in orthotic management

ECONOMICS OF AGRICULTURAL SOIL CARBON SEQUESTRATION IN THE NORTHERN GREAT PLAINS

Under the Kyoto protocol of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change the United States is charged with reducing emissions of greenhouse gases to seven percent below their 1990 levels by the period 2008-2012. These reductions could be met from many industries including agriculture. In this paper, an economic simulation model is linked to the CENTURY ecosystem model to quantify the economic efficiency of policies that might be used to sequester carbon (C) in agricultural soils in the Northern Great Plains region. Model outputs are combined to assess the costs of inducing changes in equilibrium levels of soil C through three types of policies. The first is a CRP-style policy that provides producers with per-acre payments for converting crop-land to permanent grass; the second is a policy that provides per-acre payments to all farmers that use continuous cropping, regardless of the land's cropping history; the third is a policy that provides per-acre payments for the use of continuous cropping only on land units that had previously been in a crop/fallow rotation. The analysis shows that a CRP-style policy is found to be an inefficient means to increase soil C resulting in costs that typically exceed $100 per MT (metric ton) of C. In contrast, payments to adopt continuous cropping were found to produce increases in soil C for between$5 to $70/MT depending on the geographic area and degree of targeting of the payments. The most efficient, lowest cost policy is achieved when payments are targeted to land that was previously in a crop/fallow rotation. In this range, soil C sequestration appears to be competitive with C sequestered from other sources.policy design, economic efficiency, soil carbon, sequestration, valuing soil carbon, Great Plains agriculture, Environmental Economics and Policy, Q2,

ECONOMICS OF AGRICULTURAL SOIL CARBON SEQUESTRATION IN THE NORTHERN PLAINS

Under the Kyoto protocol of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change the United States is charged with reducing emissions of greenhouse gases to seven percent below their 1990 levels by the period 2008-2012. These reductions could be met from many industries including agriculture. In this paper, an economic simulation model is linked to an ecosystem model to quantify the economic efficiency of policies that might be used to sequester carbon (C) in agricultural soils in the Northern Plains region. Simulations with the Century ecosystem model show that long-term soil C levels associated with a crop/fallow system are less than those for grass alone, but that soil C levels for grass-clover-pasture are greater than for continuously cropped grains. The analysis shows that a CRP-style policy is found to be an inefficient means to increase soil C because the per acre payments to convert crop-land to grass-only draw land from both the crop/fallow system and the continuous cropping system, and costs typically exceed $100 per MT (metric ton) of C. In contrast, payments to adopt continuous cropping were found to produce increases in soil C for between$5 to $70 depending on area and degree of targeting of the payments. The most efficient, lowest cost policy is achieved when payments are targeted to land that was previously in a crop/fallow rotation. In this range, soil C sequestration appears to be competitive with C sequestered from other sources.policy design, economic efficiency, soil carbon, sequestration, valuing soil carbon, Great Plains agriculture, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, Q2,

Lineage A betacoronavirus NS2 proteins and the homologous torovirus Berne pp1a carboxy-terminal domain are phosphodiesterases that antagonize activation of RNase L

Viruses in the family Coronaviridae, within the order Nidovirales, are etiologic agents of a range of human and animal diseases, including both mild and severe respiratory diseases in humans. These viruses encode conserved replicase and structural proteins as well as more diverse accessory proteins, encoded in the 3′ ends of their genomes, that often act as host cell antagonists. We previously showed that 2′,5′-phosphodiesterases (2′,5′-PDEs) encoded by the prototypical Betacoronavirus, mouse hepatitis virus (MHV), and by Middle East respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus antagonize the oligoadenylate-RNase L (OAS-RNase L) pathway. Here we report that additional coronavirus superfamily members, including lineage A betacoronaviruses and toroviruses infecting both humans and animals, encode 2′,5′-PDEs capable of antagonizing RNase L. We used a chimeric MHV system (MHV(Mut)) in which exogenous PDEs were expressed from an MHV backbone lacking the gene for a functional NS2 protein, the endogenous RNase L antagonist. With this system, we found that 2′,5′-PDEs encoded by the human coronavirus HCoV-OC43 (OC43; an agent of the common cold), human enteric coronavirus (HECoV), equine coronavirus (ECoV), and equine torovirus Berne (BEV) are enzymatically active, rescue replication of MHV(Mut) in bone marrow-derived macrophages, and inhibit RNase L-mediated rRNA degradation in these cells. Additionally, PDEs encoded by OC43 and BEV rescue MHV(Mut) replication and restore pathogenesis in wild-type (WT) B6 mice. This finding expands the range of viruses known to encode antagonists of the potent OAS-RNase L antiviral pathway, highlighting its importance in a range of species as well as the selective pressures exerted on viruses to antagonize it. IMPORTANCE Viruses in the family Coronaviridae include important human and animal pathogens, including the recently emerged viruses severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and Middle East respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus (MERS-CoV). We showed previously that two viruses within the genus Betacoronavirus, mouse hepatitis virus (MHV) and MERS-CoV, encode 2′,5′-phosphodiesterases (2′,5′-PDEs) that antagonize the OAS-RNase L pathway, and we report here that these proteins are furthermore conserved among additional coronavirus superfamily members, including lineage A betacoronaviruses and toroviruses, suggesting that they may play critical roles in pathogenesis. As there are no licensed vaccines or effective antivirals against human coronaviruses and few against those infecting animals, identifying viral proteins contributing to virulence can inform therapeutic development. Thus, this work demonstrates that a potent antagonist of host antiviral defenses is encoded by multiple and diverse viruses within the family Coronaviridae, presenting a possible broad-spectrum therapeutic target

mRUBiS: An Exemplar for Model-Based Architectural Self-Healing and Self-Optimization

Self-adaptive software systems are often structured into an adaptation engine that manages an adaptable software by operating on a runtime model that represents the architecture of the software (model-based architectural self-adaptation). Despite the popularity of such approaches, existing exemplars provide application programming interfaces but no runtime model to develop adaptation engines. Consequently, there does not exist any exemplar that supports developing, evaluating, and comparing model-based self-adaptation off the shelf. Therefore, we present mRUBiS, an extensible exemplar for model-based architectural self-healing and self-optimization. mRUBiS simulates the adaptable software and therefore provides and maintains an architectural runtime model of the software, which can be directly used by adaptation engines to realize and perform self-adaptation. Particularly, mRUBiS supports injecting issues into the model, which should be handled by self-adaptation, and validating the model to assess the self-adaptation. Finally, mRUBiS allows developers to explore variants of adaptation engines (e.g., event-driven self-adaptation) and to evaluate the effectiveness, efficiency, and scalability of the engines