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myofascial pain syndrome (MPS) is associated with reductions in range of movement (ROM), decrease in physical function and performance and increase in pain in different populations. Elucidating the best prevention and treatment strategies for MPS has been one of the main goals in the last decade. The objective of the present study was to compare the acute effects of self-myofascial foam rolling release (SFR) and dry-needling (DN) techniques on ankle dorsiflexion ROM, soreness post-needling and performance through countermovement jump (CMJ) height. a prospective crossover design composed by 12 active adults, aged 23.41 ± 1.68 years (weight: 78.33 ± 9.02 Kg; height: 1.79 ± 0.088 m) with active ankle dorsiflexion restriction was performed. Participants were randomized into the SFR and DN techniques to analyze its effects on ankle dorsiflexion ROM, muscle soreness and jump height at pre, post and 24 h post-intervention. significant improvements were found by DN on ankle dorsiflexion at 24 h post intervention and muscle soreness by SFR at the same time point. No significant differences were found between conditions. Both SFR and DN are effective in improving ankle dorsiflexion and performance in young adults without producing an acute effect in muscle soreness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investing in energy efficiency measures is a major challenge for SMEs, both for environmental and economic reasons. However, certain barriers often make it difficult to invest in such measures. Although public financial support helps to overcome economic barriers, public bodies face the challenge of identifying which SMEs display the greatest potential to invest in energy efficiency measures. By applying a random forest technique and by using sampling balancing techniques, this paper identifies the profile of industrial SMEs that might be potential beneficiaries of public aid, thereby helping public institutions to target their calls and direct their efforts towards this group of SMEs. Specifically, liquidity and indebtedness are found to be the most useful predictors for SMEs in the industrial sector. The results are robust and reveal that applying a random forest approach for unbalanced samples offers greater predictive capacity and statistical power than applying traditional estimation techniques. By identifying potentially benefiting firms, this work helps to boost the effectiveness of public subsidies and to improve the channeling of public funds, which ultimately favors investment in energy efficiency. • Public subsidies favor energy efficiency measures by reducing the up-front cost and making the investment more profitable. • Subsidy effectiveness depends on the capacity to identify which SMEs are potential beneficiaries of energy subsidies. • We evidence that applying a random forest approach for unbalanced samples offers greater predictive capacity and statistical power than traditional techniques. • The most useful predictors for SMEs in the industrial sector are related to liquidity and indebtedness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aortic regurgitation is the backflow of blood into the left ventricle as a result of impaired function of the aortic valve, which normally directs blood flow from the left ventricle to the aorta. Patients with chronic aortic regurgitation may often remain free of symptoms for decades, and the function of the heart muscle may worsen without clinical deterioration. Surgery may be considered to treat aortic regurgitation before signs of heart failure develop. However, the validity of the criteria for selecting patients with chronic aortic regurgitation for surgery has not been clearly demonstrated. The outcomes of 53 patients with aortic regurgitation, who were selected for surgery based on specific criteria, were assessed. The criteria for selecting patients with aortic regurgitation for surgery included evidence of impaired function of the left ventricle. The patients were divided into groups of 11 patients without symptoms (group A), 30 patients with moderate symptoms (group B), and 12 patients with difficulty breathing and accumulation of fluid within the lungs (group C). One patient from group C died during surgery, and late death occurred in three patients from group C and one patient from group B. At the end of an average of three years follow-up after surgery, 41 patients were asymptomatic and 5 patients had moderate symptoms. Most of the patients with moderate symptoms originally belonged to group C. Before surgery, ventricular dimensions and functional state were similar for patients with no or moderate symptoms, but worse for patients with severe symptoms. After surgery, ventricular dimensions and function did not improve considerably in patients with very dilated hearts or a very low ejection fraction, a measure of ventricular function. These results suggest that surgery can be delayed in asymptomatic patients until criteria for impaired left ventricular function are fulfilled. Although the outcome of patients with severe heart failure and associated symptoms is poor, surgery causes some degree of improvement in symptoms. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

This article presents the results of a preliminary investigation on the use of the motions of a large-volume semi-submersible platform as the basis for estimating waves on-site. The main focus of the application is on the harsher wave conditions, for which other measurement devices are known to present limitations. As a first step in this investigation, a series of tests were performed with a scaled model in a wave basin. A wide range of waves was tested in order to evaluate how the estimation errors behave with respect to wave period and amplitude. Moreover, since the statistical inference relies on a linear dynamic model, the influence of uncertainties on the unit's RAOs must be assessed. Since the non-linear viscous effect on resonant responses is known to be one of the main sources of error in this regard, different approaches for predefining the viscous damping levels are tested and compared. The results attest that, at least in the controlled conditions of the tests, the inference method is able to provide accurate estimations of the extreme waves conditions that were tested. A simple method for predicting the damping based on the recorded motions is shown to improve the estimations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction This study explored schizotypy as a familial liability marker for schizophrenia-spectrum disorders (SSD) by examining: 1) the aggregation of schizotypy in families with a SSD patient, 2) whether familial resemblance of schizotypy is associated with ridge dissociations (RD), another SSD liability marker, 3) whether schizotypy aggregation patterns influence patients' psychopathology. Methods The sample comprised 30 SSD patients and 82 healthy first-degree relatives. Schizotypy was assessed using the Structured Interview for Schizotypy-Revised (SIS-R). Patients' psychopathology was evaluated using the Comprehensive Assessment of Symptoms and History (CASH). RD were identified as anomalies of the dermal ridge junction. Familiality of SIS-R was investigated using a linear mixed model (LMM) and its strength was assessed using an intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Another LMM using the absolute differences in SIS-R scores between all possible pairs of relatives as the dependent variable was fitted to obtain an intra-family resemblance score, a family-specific indicator of resemblance of SIS-R scores within each family. Results 1) Schizotypy was familial (ICC = 0.30); families with high resemblance displayed low schizotypy, whereas families with low resemblance included at least one healthy relative with high schizotypy (p < 0.001). 2) Relatives with RD had higher SIS-R scores (p = 0.018) and belonged to families with discordant schizotypy scores among members (p < 0.001). 3) Patients from high schizotypy families showed more severe disorganized symptoms at the psychotic episode (p = 0.035) and 1 year later (p = 0.011). Conclusions Schizotypy is a marker of vulnerability for SSD that runs within a subgroup of families. The schizotypy familial aggregation pattern correlates with RD in relatives and with patients' psychopathology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]