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Abstract Background The variables that contribute to positive and negative experiences of clinical education amongst student physiotherapists are well established. Multiple stakeholders are invested in the ongoing success of physiotherapy clinical placements given workforce challenges within the profession and the emerging relationship between clinical placements and new‐graduate recruitment. However, little is known about the relationship between clinical placement experiences and the career decisions of new‐graduate physiotherapists. Purpose To explore the influence of clinical placement experiences on new‐graduate physiotherapists' career intentions and decision making. Methods A qualitative study which used a general inductive approach. New‐graduate physiotherapists (n = 18) were recruited through a snowball sampling approach and participated in semi‐structured interviews. Ethical approval was obtained from The University of Queensland. Results Four overarching themes were generated; (1) clinical placements impact career decisions, (2) placements as a trial for future employment to identify professional preferences, (3) feeling valued as a team member, and (4) clinical educators’ shape placement experiences. Discussion and Conclusion Clinical placements play a significant role in directing new‐graduate physiotherapists’ careers, with clinical placement viewed as an opportunity to explore one's career options. A complex interplay of clinical and nonclinical variables was acknowledged by new‐graduates, with positive experiences during clinical placements considered to increase new‐graduate physiotherapist intentions to work in similar settings or contexts. Factors that contributed to positive experiences included accessible mentorship from clinical educators with regular feedback, and opportunities for the students’ contribution and clinical capacity to be acknowledged and valued. Recommendations are made for creating supportive workplace environments for clinical education and include prioritizing supportive mentorship. Implications for Physiotherapy Practice Clinical placement providers intending to recruit new‐graduates who have attended their workplace as students may benefit from implementing strategies that assist students to feel supported as valued members of the team. Additionally, the findings of this study may guide education providers when considering the training delivered to new and existing clinical placement sites with the aim of providing supported student learning environments.

BackgroundPeople who support Veterans as they transition from their military service into civilian life may be at an increased risk of psychological distress. Existing studies focus primarily on paid family caregivers, but few studies include spouses and informal non-family “care partners.” We sought to identify key challenges faced by care partners of Veterans with invisible injuries.MethodsSemi-structured interviews were conducted with 36 individuals involved in supporting a recently separated US military Veteran enrolled in a 2-year longitudinal study. CPs completed validated measures on perceived stress, caregiving burden, quality of their relationship, life satisfaction, and flourishing. Independent t-tests were used to compare cases in these groups on caregiving burden, quality of their relationship, life satisfaction, and flourishing. Care partners were categorized as reporting high and low levels of stress. Exemplar cases were used to demonstrate divergences in the experiences of CPs with different levels of stress over time.ResultsCare partners reported shifts in self-perception that occurred from supporting a Veteran, emphasizing how they helped Veterans navigate health systems and the processes of disclosing health and personal information in civilian contexts. Exemplar cases with high and low burdens demonstrated divergent experiences in self-perception, managing multi-faceted strain, and coping with stress over time. Case studies of specific care partners illustrate how multi-faceted strain shifted over time and is affected by additional burdens from childcare, financial responsibilities, or lack of education on mental health issues.ConclusionsFindings suggest the unique needs of individuals who support military Veterans with invisible injuries, highlighting variations and diachronic elements of caregiving. This sample is younger than the typical caregiver sample with implications for how best to support unpaid care partners caring for Veterans in the early to mid-period of their use of VA and civilian health services.

Abstract Background During the COVID-19 pandemic, face-to-face teaching and learning of physiotherapy practical skills was limited. Asynchronous, remote training has been effective in development of clinical skills in some health professions. This study aimed to determine the effect of remote, asynchronous training and feedback on development of neurodynamic skills in physiotherapy students. Methods Longitudinal repeated measurements study, across four training sessions. Participants engaged in a remote training program for development of upper limb neurodynamic techniques. In this sequential training, participants viewed the online tutorial, practiced independently, and uploaded a video of their performance for formative assessment and feedback from a trained instructor via a checklist and rubric. Results Intra-subject analyses of 60 third-year physiotherapy students showed that the target standard of performance, with no further significant change in scores, was attained following session 2 for the checklist and session 3 for the rubric. This shows that two sessions are required to learn the procedures, and three sessions yield further improvements in performance quality. Conclusion The remote, asynchronous training and feedback model proved to be an effective strategy for students’ development of neurodynamic testing skills and forms a viable alternative to in-person training. This study contributes to the future of acquiring physiotherapy clinical competencies when distance or hybrid practice is required.

Abstract Background Experiential learning opportunities, such as work integrated learning placements, are often challenging for health professional students. It is therefore imperative that students are adequately prepared before engaging in placement learning. Operationalising ‘readiness for learning on placement’ as a construct, is necessary for providing quality student feedback and assessment. Methods An integrative mixed methods approach was adopted for this study, utilising a survey to canvass the perspectives of academics, students, and placement educators around the construct of readiness to inform potential assessment items. An assessment tool measuring student readiness for placement was then developed. Data from occupational therapy, physiotherapy and speech pathology programs were evaluated using Rasch analysis to explore the unidimensionality of this construct. Results The online survey was completed by 64 participants, confirming the importance and measurability of foundational skills integral to readiness for placement learning. These foundational skills were then reflected in a pilot 20-item tool covering domains of professional and learner behaviour, communication, information gathering skills and reasoning. The Rasch analysis of 359 pre-registration student assessments confirmed unidimensionality, suggesting that the skills and attributes (operationalised as assessment items) that are considered part of ‘readiness for placement’ are components of this construct. Together, these findings provide support that the items on this tool are relevant and representative of the skills and behaviours that indicate readiness for placement learning. Two items regarding documentation and appropriate professional dress demonstrated some lower importance scores and interpretation variance warranting further investigation. Conclusion Through the exploration of the construct of readiness for placement learning, we have created and subsequently revised, an innovative assessment tool that measures novice students’ pre-placement capabilities. Further research is now needed to explore the psychometric properties of the tool.

No presente estudo busca-se analisar o impacto de empresas familiares, que participaram do Índice de Sustentabilidade Empresarial, na adoção dos Objetivos de Desenvolvimento Sustentável (ODS). A amostra, composta por 43 empresas brasileiras listadas no Índice de Sustentabilidade Empresarial, totaliza 126 observações feitas no período de 2019 a 2021. Os dados foram submetidos à análise fatorial exploratória para estimar as diferentes dimensões dos ODS (social, econômica e ambiental) que, por conseguinte, foram analisados por meio da regressão de dados em painel. Os resultados evidenciaram que empresas com gestão familiar diminuem práticas ligadas à dimensão social dos ODS. No entanto, o fato de a organização ser familiar ou possuir controle familiar não influencia nas práticas ligadas aos ODS nas dimensões social, econômica e ambiental. Ademais, os achados demonstraram que empresas com gestão familiar não estão relacionadas à adoção de práticas dos ODS nas dimensões econômica e ambiental. Esses resultados contribuem para as discussões acerca do meio ambiente, sustentabilidade, investimentos que prezam pela responsabilidade socioambiental, atuação de empresas familiares e aderência aos ODS, especialmente ao evidenciar que as diferentes características das empresas familiares no Brasil que compõem o ISE, geralmente não implicam aumento das práticas ligadas aos ODS. Sendo assim, pode também auxiliar nas decisões dos investidores, credores e órgãos reguladores sobre a adoção de práticas socioambientais.

We analyzed the effect of national corruption perceived by the population on earnings management. Our sample consisted of 3,239 companies from 38 countries located in four geopolitical regions of the American and European continents between 2012-2019, analyzed using regression with panel data. We found that increasing levels of perceived corruption implies an increase in earnings management practices. Behavior that does not occur in the same way when considering the different geopolitical regions, because it occurs only in Latin American, North America and the Caribbean, but is non-existent in the other regions. We provide evidence that the perception of national corruption is a trigger for managers to change accounting choices.

Este trabalho analisa o efeito da tenure da firma e sócio de auditoria no gerenciamento de resultados por accruals e por atividades operacionais reais das empresas abertas do mercado brasileiro. Compuseram a amostra 147 empresas, totalizando 1.138 observações para o período 2011-2019. O gerenciamento de resultados utiliza modelos por accruals discricionários e por atividades operacionais reais que constam nos trabalhos de Dechow, Sloan e Sweeny (1995) e Dechow, Kothari e Watts (1998), respectivamente. As regressões em painel por efeito fixo revelam que a tenure da firma de auditoria influência positivamente o gerenciamento de resultados por accruals discricionários. Já no nível da pessoa física, o resultado foi diferente, uma vez que a tenure do sócio de auditoria não se mostrou relacionada com o gerenciamento de resultados por accruals. Os achados também indicam que a tenure da firma e sócio de auditoria não estão relacionadas com o gerenciamento de resultados por atividades operacionais reais. Os resultados contribuem no âmbito prático, especialmente, em discussões dos órgãos reguladores, pois revelam evidências sobre o efeito da tenure do auditor em propiciar o aumento de ações oportunistas dos gestores.

Health is influenced by a broad range of factors beyond the typical remit of public health. It is therefore increasingly recognized that multiple sectors need to be engaged to improve population health. Health in All Policies (HiAP) is an approach to systematically consider health across policies and programs. This study assessed best practices and gaps in HiAP operationalization to inform practitioners aiming to incorporate HiAP in their work. We used Delaware as a model state to examine operationalization factors in a jurisdiction planning to implement HiAP.Methods included document review, key informant interviews, focus groups, and a questionnaire conducted in Delaware and virtually. Thematic analysis was used to analyze qualitative data to provide information on best practices and gaps in existing HiAP programs and context in Delaware. Descriptive statistics were used to examine collaboration in Delaware and to support or refute qualitative findings.We identified two gaps that can hinder HiAP implementation: 1) HiAP practitioners do not adequately use strategic communications to increase buy-in across sectors; 2) practitioners do not fully recognize the importance of being adaptable throughout HiAP implementation, which hinders sustainability. Qualitative findings from Delaware offer insight to these gaps and opportunities to address them.Refining the essential elements of HiAP to add: 1) strategic communications across sectors and 2) flexibility throughout HiAP implementation may point the way to more successful adoption of HiAP approaches across jurisdictions. This research demonstrated the importance of examining local perspectives on HiAP before implementation based on a jurisdiction’s context.

Abstract This study aims to assess the effect of the rotation and tenure of audit firm and audit partner on the comparability and consistency of financial reports. Several studies have addressed the effect of auditor rotation on the quality of financial reports, but none of them focused specifically on the impact on the comparability and consistency of financial reports. Around the world, the impact of mandatory rotation of audit partner and audit firm is being discussed in academia and regulatory bodies. The peculiarity of the Brazilian regulatory environment allows us to contribute to the discussions on the effects of implementing mandatory auditor rotation. Our sample included 50 companies for which we analyzed data from 2012 to 2018. To measure comparability, we used the similarity of the accounting function model by DeFranco, Kothari and Verdi (2011), and to measure consistency we used the adaptations to this model proposed by Ribeiro (2014). For data analysis, we used descriptive statistics and multivariate panel analysis. Our results suggest that the rotation (mandatory and voluntary) of audit firm and audit partner does not affect the comparability and consistency of financial reports. Results also suggest that auditor-client relationships of up to three years contribute to a significant increase in comparability and consistency, indicating that mandatory rotation does not impair investors’ ability to compare the information concerning their investments. In addition, regulators are shown that a possible reduction in the mandatory rotation term (from five to three years, as in Italy) would be in line with market practices and would imply an increase in the comparability and consistency of financial information.

Este trabalho analisa a influência do tempo de mandato e idade do Chief Executive Officer (CEO) na comparabilidade em empresas abertas do mercado brasileiro. Foram analisadas 58 empresas em períodos anuais de 2013 a 2019. Os dados foram submetidos a regressões de dados em painel, as quais indicaram que o mandato influencia positivamente a comparabilidade. Descobriu-se também que a idade do CEO não exerce efeito direto na comparabilidade, embora seja uma característica pessoal que atue indiretamente como fator moderador na relação entre mandato e comparabilidade. CEOs mais jovens tendem a diminuir a comparabilidade das informações contábil durante o seu mandato. O estudo é importante porque demonstra que as mudanças de escolhas contábeis são mais agressivas no início e atenuadas ao decorrer do aumento do mandato. Contribui-se, sobretudo no campo prático, ao demonstrar que a idade do CEO é um fator que potencializa a influência do mandato na comparabilidade.

Este estudo objetiva analisar o efeito da suavização intencional de resultados na persistência dos lucros das empresas brasileiras de capital aberto. A amostra foi constituída de 140 empresas ao considerar períodos trimestrais de 2013 a 2018. A persistência dos lucros foi mensurada por meio da métrica de Dichev e Tang (2009). Já para a suavização intencional de resultados, recorreu-se a duas medidas que constam no trabalho de Lang, Lins e Maffett (2012). Para a análise de dados, realizou-se a estatística descritiva e, posteriormente, a regressão quantílica, por meio dos quantis 0,10; 0,25; 0,50; 0,75 e 0,90. Os resultados sugerem que a persistência dos lucros teve redução ao longo do período em todos os percentis analisados. O Percentil 10 (P10) e o Percentil 25 (P25) apresentaram as reduções mais acentuadas, com 58,15% e 31,68%, respectivamente. Os achados também evidenciam que quando o gestor utiliza a suavização mais geral de resultados a persistência dos lucros diminui. Já quando o gestor faz o uso da suavização por meio dos accruals, com objetivo de reverter a suavização realizada em anos anteriores, implica na diminuição da persistência dos lucros, exceto para os quantis 0,10 e 0,90. Essas evidências apresentam contribuições à literatura, ao abordar uma nova ótica para o tema, ou seja, avaliar apenas as consequências da parcela intencional da suavização. O estudo também auxilia os investidores e credores acerca do processo decisório, já que a persistência dos lucros é um aspecto da qualidade da informação contábil.

Esta pesquisa objetiva analisar a influência da remuneração dos executivos no gerenciamento de resultados nos bancos brasileiros de capital aberto. Para tanto, analisou-se 17 empresas do setor bancário que negociaram ações na B3, entre 2010 e 2018. Os dados foram analisados por meio da estatística descritiva e da análise multivariada, com uso da regressão quantílica. Os achados revelam que não houve diferença dos níveis de gerenciamento de resultados e da remuneração dos executivos ao longo dos anos, mesmo em períodos de recessão econômica (2015 e 2016). As evidências indicam que as empresas com os maiores níveis de gerenciamento de resultados são sensíveis à diminuição das práticas de manipulação dos accruals discricionários, quando há o aumento da remuneração dos executivos.

The widespread deployment of telemedical approaches to managed care during the CoV2 pandemic has provided an opportunity for clinicians to engage in the development and refinement of this mode of delivery. This also represents a pivotal moment to help effect a paradigm shift in how new and more sophisticated digital health services are designed and delivered with the caregiver playing a guiding role. Building on momentum this way can allow the fuller potential of digital health to be realized by focusing on “end user pull” which balances the omnipresent “technology push” of the consumer product and medical device industries. Perhaps nowhere is this more critical than in the care of neurological illnesses where patient–provider interactions must be managed frequently and rely on a complex battery of data measures. The emergent role of the physician-entrepreneur can be envisioned, complimenting established physician-scientist career paths and represents a timely and opportune moment to refine medical education curricula.

Objectives Procalcitonin (PCT) is an acute-phase reactant with concentrations ≥0.5 μg/L indicative of possible bacterial infection in patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection (COVID-19). Some with severe COVID-19 develop cytokine storm secondary to virally driven hyper-inflammation. However, increased pro-inflammatory cytokines are also seen in bacterial sepsis. This study aimed to assess the clinical utility of a cytokine panel in the assessment of COVID-19 with bacterial superinfections along with PCT and C-reactive protein (CRP). Methods The retrospective analysis included serum cytokines (interleukins; IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8 and tumour necrosis factor (TNFα)) measured using Ella™ (Bio-Techne, Oxford, UK) and PCT measured by Roche Cobas (Burgess Hill, UK) in patients admitted with COVID-19 between March 2020 and January 2021. Patients enrolled into COVID-19 clinical trials, treated with Remdesivir/IL-6 inhibitors were excluded. The cytokine data was compared between intensive care unit (ICU) patients, age matched non-ICU patients and healthy volunteers as well as ICU patients with high and normal PCT (≥0.5 vs. Results Cytokine concentrations and CRP were higher in COVID-19 patients (76; ICU & non-ICU) vs. healthy controls (n = 24), all pConclusions Pro-inflammatory cytokines and PCT were higher in COVID-19 patients requiring ICU admission vs. non-ICU admissions despite no difference in CRP. Furthermore, TNFα was higher in those with high PCT and requiring longer ICU admission despite no difference in CRP or rate of bacterial superinfection.

Introduction: Rural physiotherapy is a challenging area of practice that requires clinicians to respond to the unique factors that contribute to rurality. This study aimed to outline an introductory set of competencies that contribute to effective physiotherapy practice in rural Australia. Methods: A three-round Delphi study was undertaken using a panel of expert physiotherapists. The panel was asked to provide open-ended responses to the following question: 'What unique knowledge, skills, abilities, attributes or other characteristics do physiotherapists need to possess, or learn in order to provide effective physiotherapy specifically in a rural or remote setting?' These responses were then thematically analysed to create competencies. The competencies were evaluated in the subsequent rounds by the Delphi panel. Consensus was set at 80%. Rural and remote experts were determined through criteria including duration of practice, established expert frameworks, and self- or peer nomination. The publicly accessible Australian Physiotherapy Association database was used to access the contact details of 222 physiotherapists working in rural and remote locations across all Australian states and territories. Seventeen expert physiotherapists met inclusion criteria and consented to participation. Results: Seventeen expert physiotherapists completed round one with a 100% response rate. Analysis of the expert panel responses yielded an initial 24 competencies. The second round had a response rate of 94.1%, and the third round 93.8%. A final set of 19 competencies was established. The knowledge, skills and attributes featured in the competencies relate to responsivity to rural locality, adapting to individual community needs and problem solving in response to challenges to practising in rural and remote locations. Conclusion: This study has introduced a set of competencies that may contribute towards effective physiotherapy practice in the rural setting. The competencies provide a common language for physiotherapists and their employers, and may be used to guide training or mentorship in this setting.

Objetivo: Identificar os fatores relacionados ao uso de cartões de crédito pelos estudantes do curso de Ciências Contábeis. Metodologia: Adotou-se o uso de dados de questionários aplicados aos estudantes. A amostra do estudo compreende a estudantes na modalidade presencial das instituições de ensino superior da região Sul, Sudeste, Centro-Oeste e Nordeste, com 946 respondentes. Os dados foram analisados por meio da estatística descritiva e modelo logit ordenado. Resultados: Evidencia-se que a maioria dos respondentes utiliza apenas um cartão de crédito. A educação financeira apresentou relação significativa e negativa ao uso dos cartões de créditos. A educação financeira está associada com o otimismo dos respondentes na tomada de decisão relativa a assuntos financeiros. Também, a interação com os pais sobre finanças pessoais, está associada ao aumento da probabilidade de os estudantes utilizarem o cartão de crédito. Contribuições do Estudo: Tornam-se importantes para diversas partes interessadas, tais como estudantes, consultores financeiros, pesquisadores, instituições educacionais, pais e outros agentes da socialização financeira, uma vez auxilia a compreender os fatores que influenciam o uso do cartão de crédito. As partes interessadas podem utilizar a informação obtida com esta investigação para abordar questões relacionadas à gestão financeira, ao bem-estar financeiro e à falência, a fim de obter melhores recursos financeiros globais.

O objetivo deste estudo foi analisar os estudos sobre em micro e pequenas empresas no Congresso Brasileiro de Custos. Foram analisados os seguintes pontos: a) número de autores; b) procedimentos metodológicos, e; c) instituição. Para tanto, investigou-se 102 artigos que tratam sobre os custos em micro e pequenas empresas. Os dados coletados foram estudados por meio da estatística descritiva e análise de redes. Verificou-se que os estudos de custos em MPEs teve média de publicação de 4,43 por ano, sendo que o período que houve maior número de estudos entre e 2007 a 2013 e o menor entre 1994 e 2001, com número inferior a três pesquisas por ano, exceto em 1999. Observa-se que 14,71% dos estudos utilizaram a pesquisa descritiva e exploratória e que a maioria dos autores estão vinculados as universidades públicas (estaduais e federais). Também, nota-se que o estado de São Paulo é representado por 26,47% das pesquisas realizadas. A rede de cooperação é composta por estados de três regiões brasileiras (centro-oeste, sudeste e sul), bem como a de cooperação das universidades, em que destas, o principal grupo é composto por instituições destas três regiões. Com isso, os resultados deste estudo complementam os trabalhos que realizaram a análise bibliométrica das pesquisas da ciência contábil.

_Background_: The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a shift in the teaching and learning of health professional clinical skills from traditional face-to-face approaches to online platforms in Australia. To date, no research has explored fully online teaching and learning of clinical skills from the perspective of students and academic teachers in the health professions. _Aims_: The aim of this study was to explore student and academic teacher experiences of teaching and learning clinical skills online due to COVID-19. _Methods_: A qualitative interpretative phenomenological approach was used to investigate health professional student (n=17) and academic teacher (n=10) experiences. Data was analysed thematically and a thematic network tool was applied to identify common themes between the two participant groups. _Results_: Three overarching themes were generated: 1) rapid adaptations, 2) additional needs in online learning, and 3) what the future holds. _Conclusion_: The findings of this study have highlighted the importance of providing opportunities for effective practice of, and feedback on, clinical skills when using online platforms. Outcomes of the study reveal the need for clinically relevant teaching and learning resources and integrating clinically relevant and authentic activities from the perspective of health professional students and their academic teachers.

Background There is increasing interest in technology to deliver physical rehabilitation and allow clinicians to monitor progress. Examples include wearable activity trackers and active video games (AVGs), where physical activity is required to play the game. However, few studies have explored what may influence the effectiveness of these as technology-based physical activity interventions in older adults with chronic diseases. Objective This study aimed to explore: 1) perceptions about wearable physical activity trackers; 2) perceptions about using technology to share physical activity information with clinicians; 3) barriers and motivators to playing games, including AVGs for rehabilitation. Methods Qualitative study based on semi-structured interviews with older adults ( n = 19) with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Results Wearable activity trackers were perceived as useful to quantify activity, facilitate goal-setting, visualize long-term improvements and provide reminders. Participants generally wished to share data with their clinicians to gain greater accountability, receive useful feedback and improve the quality of clinical care. Participants were motivated to play games (including AVGs) by seeking fun, social interaction and health benefits. Some felt that AVGs were of no benefit or were too difficult. Competition was both a motivator and a barrier. Conclusions The findings of the present study seek to inform the design of technology to encourage physical activity in older adults with chronic diseases.

Este estudo objetiva analisar a influência da suavização intencional de resultados na comparabilidade dos relatórios financeiros. A amostra corresponde a 87 companhias, considerando períodos trimestrais de 2013 a 2017. Para o cálculo da medida de comparabilidade, optou-se pelo método da similaridade da função contábil de DeFranco, Kothari e Verdi (2011) e para mensurar a suavização intencional de resultados, utilizou-se duas medidas que capturam diferentes dimensões da suavização, apresentadas no trabalho de Lang, Lins e Maffett, (2012). Os dados foram analisados por meio da regressão quantílica. Os resultados obtidos indicam que a suavização intencional de fato prejudica a comparabilidade. Contudo, quando analisada a suavização intencional de resultados por accruals, houve indícios de reflexo sobre a comparabilidade apenas no quantil que compreende às observações com os menores níveis comparabilidade. Para a maioria das empresas analisadas, a suavização por accruals é menos nociva para a comparabilidade do que a suavização mais geral, que incluí também a suavização operacional. Este aspecto foi observado no trabalho de Sohn (2016) e pode estar relacionado ao problema de o gerenciamento operacional ser mais profundo e persistente do que o gerenciamento por accruals.

Using the lens of expectation states theory, which we formalize in Bayesian terms, this article examines the influences of national performance and self-assessment contexts on gender differences in the rate of aspiring to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) occupations. We demonstrate that girls hold themselves to a higher performance standard than do boys before forming STEM orientations, and this gender "standards gap" grows with the strength of a country’s performance environment. We also demonstrate that a repeatedly observed paradox in this literature—namely, that the STEM gender gap increases with a more strongly gender-egalitarian national culture—vanishes when the national performance culture is taken into account. Whereas other research has proposed theories to explain the apparent paradox as an empirical reality, we demonstrate that the empirical relationship is as expected; net of the performance environment, countries with a more gender-egalitarian culture have a smaller gender gap in STEM orientations. We also find, consistent with our theory, that the proportion of high-performing girls among STEM aspirants grows with the strength of the national performance environment even as the overall gender gap in STEM orientations grows because of offsetting behavior by students at the lower end of the performance distribution.

We present a physical characterization of MM J100026.36+021527.9 (a.k.a. "Mambo-9"), a dusty star-forming galaxy (DSFG) at z = 5.850 ± 0.001. This is the highest-redshift unlensed DSFG (and fourth most distant overall) found to date and is the first source identified in a new 2 mm blank-field map in the COSMOS field. Though identified in prior samples of DSFGs at 850 μm to 1.2 mm with unknown redshift, the detection at 2 mm prompted further follow-up as it indicated a much higher probability that the source was likely to sit at z > 4. Deep observations from the Atacama Large Millimeter and submillimeter Array (ALMA) presented here confirm the redshift through the secure detection of 12CO(J = 6→5) and p-H2O (21,1 → 20,2). Mambo-9 is composed of a pair of galaxies separated by 6 kpc with corresponding star formation rates of 590 M⊙ yr−1 and 220 M⊙ yr−1, total molecular hydrogen gas mass of (1.7 ± 0.4) × 1011M⊙, dust mass of (1.3 ± 0.3) × 109M⊙, and stellar mass of () × 109M⊙. The total halo mass, (3.3 ± 0.8) × 1012M⊙, is predicted to exceed 1015M⊙ by z = 0. The system is undergoing a merger-driven starburst that will increase the stellar mass of the system tenfold in τdepl = 40−80 Myr, converting its large molecular gas reservoir (gas fraction of ) into stars. Mambo-9 evaded firm spectroscopic identification for a decade, following a pattern that has emerged for some of the highest-redshift DSFGs found. And yet, the systematic identification of unlensed DSFGs like Mambo-9 is key to measuring the global contribution of obscured star formation to the star formation rate density at z ≳ 4, the formation of the first massive galaxies, and the formation of interstellar dust at early times (≲1 Gyr). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pulmonary rehabilitation is an effective treatment for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. However, access to these services is limited especially in rural and remote areas. Telerehabilitation has the potential to deliver pulmonary rehabilitation programs to these communities. The aim of this study was threefold: to establish the technical feasibility of transmitting real-time pulse oximetry data, determine the validity of remote measurements compared to conventional face-to-face measures, and evaluate the participants’ perception of the usability of the technology. Thirty-seven healthy individuals participated in a single remote pulmonary rehabilitation exercise session, conducted using the eHAB telerehabilitation system. Validity was assessed by comparing the participant's oxygen saturation and heart rate with the data set received at the therapist’s remote location. There was an 80% exact agreement between participant and therapist data sets. The mean absolute difference and Bland and Altman’s limits of agreement fell within the minimum clinically important difference for both oxygen saturation and heart rate values. Participants found the system easy to use and felt confident that they would be able to use it at home. Remote measurement of pulse oximetry data for a pulmonary rehabilitation exercise session was feasible and valid when compared to conventional face-to-face methods.