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Background: Patients with fibromyalgia experience chronic, widespread pain. It remains a misunderstood disorder with multimodal treatments providing mixed results. Objectives: To examine the effects of radial shockwave therapy (RSWT) compared to placebo on pain, pain catastrophizing, psychological indices, blood markers, and neuroimaging. Study-related experiences were also explored qualitatively. Methods: Quantitative sensory testing (QST), Visual Analog Scale (VAS), Beighton Scoring Screen (BSS), Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS), blood biomarker (Interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-10), and brain fMRI were measured pre- and post-treatment along with a post-treatment survey. The RSWT group received five treatments (one week apart over five-week period) to the three most painful areas (500 shocks at 1.5 bar and 15 Hz, then 1000 shocks at 2 bar and 8 Hz, and finally 500 shocks at 1.5 bar and 15 Hz) versus sham treatment for the placebo group. Results: There were no statistically significant differences in the BSS for hypermobility (p =.21; d =.74), PCS (p =.70; d =.22), VAS (p =.17–.61; d =.20–.83) scores, QST for skin temperature and stimuli (p =.14–.65; d =.25–.88), and for the pressure pain threshold (p =.71–.93; d =.05–.21). The VAS scores had clinically significant changes (MCID greater than 13.90) with improved pain scores in the RSWT group. Neuroimaging scans revealed no cortical thickness changes. Post-treatment surveys revealed pain and symptom improvements and offered hope to individuals. Conclusion: RSWT was implemented safely, without any negative treatment effects reported, and acted as a pain modulator to reduce sensitivity. Clinical Trials Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identification number NCT02760212 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine the overall survival of patients on hemodialysis and prognostic factors associated. Methods: A retrospective cohort of patients who entered a chronic hemodialysis program at the Centro Nacional de Salud Renal of EsSALUD from 1994 and 2014. A total of 1789 patients were included, and data was gathered from the SIG version 2.0, which stores charts since 1994. The survival of the cohort and prognostic factors were evaluated. Results: Mean age was 49.7 ± 17.4 years; 779 (43.5%) were females; 393 (22%) were diabetics, and 592 (33.2%) had blood hypertension; 1408 (83%) had an arterio-venous fistula; 147 (8.16%) had positive serology for hepatitis C; 999 (55.84%) were admitted from 1994 to 2003 and 790 (44,16%) from 2003 to 2014. Survival of the cohort did not change by sex, presence of hypertension, serology at admission, or decade of admission. Multivariate analysis identified the age group above 50 years [HR: 3.72 (IC95%: 3.07 -- 4.50) p = 0.000] and use of catheters at admission to the chronic dialysis program [HR: 1.37 (IC95%: 1.07 -- 1.76): p = 0.010] as independent factors for lower survival. Conclusions: The survival was not affected by the decade of admission but by advanced age and use of catheters in the 20-year follow-up period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is a narrative of our experience in analyzing and merging data files provided to us by the Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO). In the paper, we propose a scheme of merging data files by means of Structured Query Language (SQL, pronounced as "sequel"). Although, the narrative of our experiences using this merging scheme could have been extended to any number of data files, the aim of this work was to merge only three EQAO data files. Via this merge process, we were able to gain meaningful information and facilitate the analysis of EQAO data to answer our research questions. By using SQL queries, our approach was not only to analyze the available data files but also to construct a narrative about viewing and handling data contained in the files.

Background: Wizards of Motion is a program of curriculum delivery through which experts in Kinesiology introduce grade 7 students to applications of physics for human movement. The program is linked closely to Ministry of Education curriculum requirements but includes human movement applications and data analysis experiences. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate students' head safety knowledge and attitudes toward helmet use after participating in the program. Methods: Data were collected from five grade 7 classrooms. Two classrooms (n = 37) receiving the program, while three classrooms, (n = 37) formed the control group (no intervention). Results on the Knowledge Test, and the Student Helmet Use Questionnaire were compared between intervention and control students. Results: A significant pre-post change in level of knowledge scores was observed in the intervention group. Likewise, intervention group students showed a significant increase in their intention to wear a helmet in future. Discussion: The successful program delivery illustrated the usefulness of linking public health promotion to standard classroom curriculum. Translation to Health Education Practice: This program exemplified the fundamental elements of knowledge translation and knowledge development, and is therefore recommended as a positive approach to delivering the public health message of helmet use for head safety. (Contains 3 tables and 1 figure.)

This study evaluated the level of change in students' knowledge of and attitudes toward healthy lifestyle behaviors and prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD) following implementation of a Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Module in Grade 5 science classes. Two classes of students (n[subscript 1] = 39) were identified as the intervention group and two classes (n[subscript 2] = 31) were designated as controls. The intervention group participated in the module initially, whereas the control groups participated after the data collection was completed. A two-group, pre-post comparison design was used to evaluate results on both a knowledge test and an attitude questionnaire. The results indicated that although both the intervention and the control groups began with similar knowledge and attitudes toward CVD and healthy behaviors, the intervention group demonstrated an improved level of knowledge and attitudes. Further research is needed to determine whether this CVD module could provide a sustained impact on adoption of healthy behaviors among adolescents.

This chapter reports a study that examines the differential effects of gender in teacher quality evaluations among Colombian students. Men and women rated teacher performance differently. Gender can be a moderating variable that better predicts the outcomes of such evaluations compared to commitment or academic performance.

Introduction In North America alone, 500,000 people have been diagnosed with conditions such as Down syndrome (DS), autism, Asperger's, and fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) (National Institute of Health, 2017). However, [...], Many individuals with Intellectual Disabilities (ID) do not participate in regular physical activity and exhibit a sedentary lifestyle leading to obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and muscular atrophy, among others. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of a 6-week progressive and combined training program on muscular strength and cardiovascular endurance of young adults with moderate global delay. Three, one-hour sessions per week, for 6 weeks, involved full body resistance and cardiorespiratory training. A 10 maximum-repetition (RM) seated chest and leg press performance, as well as Legers 20m shuttle run were administered at the pre-, mid- and post- times. The progressive training principle was applied after the mid-test. The results showed significant improvements in muscular strength and cardiorespiratory endurance confirming that combined and progressive training protocol resulted in faster gains as compared to past approaches that involved programs that were less intense but longer in duration. Key words: Fitness, intellectual disabilities, training approaches

Arthritis is a general term that means inflammation of the joints (Bosomworth, 2009). Osteoarthritisis, the most common type of this condition, is linked to the wear and tear of the [...], Nordic walking (NW) may represent a nonpharmacological treatment for individuals with osteoarthritis who refrain from exercise due to physical stress and coinciding feeling of exhaustion. This study examined if NW has a positive effect on aerobic capacity ([VO.sub.2]max) and intensity (time to completion) of exercise, rate of perceived exertion (Rate of Perceived Exertion Scale) and pain (Visual Analog Pain Scale) in elderly adults with osteoarthritis. Six females and four males ([M.sub.age] = 62.8 years, SD = 4. 6 months) engaged in one session comprised of a regular walking and one involving NW. The variables derived at the end of each session showed that NW led to significant increase in [VO.sub.2]max and intensity as compared to regular walking. No significant differences were evident in the rate of perceived exertion (RPE), but more pain was perceived when walking without the poles. Overall, the addition of poles while walking had a positive effect on exercise capacity and intensity, without negative impact on perception of exertion and pain. Thus, NW may be recommended to older adults with osteoarthritis, of either gender, for its favorable physiological and psychological effects. Keywords: osteoarthritis, clinical treatment; physical activity

This study explored the effects of no braces, softshell (AE), and semi-rigid (T1) ankle braces on time to complete a modified agility task, as well as lower extremity muscle activity and impulse during the change of direction component of the task. Thirty-nine healthy, active individuals completed a modified agility task under the three brace conditions. Time to complete the modified agility task, along with mean surface electromyographic activity (sEMG) and impulse during the deceleration and propulsive phases of the task were measured. There were no significant differences across conditions with respect to sEMG or impulse measures during the deceleration or propulsive phases. There was a significant change in time to complete the modified agility task, F(2,76) = 17.242, p< 0.001, ηp2 = 0.312. Post-hoc analysis revealed a significant increase in time to complete the modified agility task when wearing the AE (0.16 (95% CI, 0.062 to 0.265) seconds, p< 0.001) and T1 (0.20 (95% CI, 0.113 to 0.286) seconds, p< 0.001) ankle braces compared to no braces. It appears that performance on a modified agility task may be diminished when wearing ankle braces, although sEMG activity and impulse are unaffected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this article is to evaluate the preliminary psychometric properties of four instruments related to the measures of "Determinants of Success in Knowledge Management Systems (KMS) in Institutions of Higher Education (HEI´s)". The sample was N = 150 participants, made up of academics, administrators, and researchers from Latin American HEIs. The factorial composition was estimated using unweighted ordinal least squares extraction with direct oblimin rotation and reliability estimation. It was found that the instruments have a structure consistent with the theory (α> 0,90), concluding about their usability and applicability to collect data regarding the determinants of success in KMS in HEI´s. As a result, four valid and reliable instruments were obtained, whose components represent the proposed constructs and have high internal consistency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Structural design of flexible footbridges requires a thorough understanding of pedestrian-induced vibration such that their dynamic behavior is accurately predicted. Human-induced vibration creates complicated ground reaction forces that contribute to human–structure interaction in the footbridges. It, therefore, becomes a significant challenge to the bridge designers to accurately estimate the moving pedestrian load on the footbridges during the design phase. This article examines the issues of human–structure interaction in slender pedestrian bridges and aims to analyze the walking pattern of the pedestrian from human-induced vibration data of the bridge. A wavelet-based time–frequency decomposition technique is adopted to extract the walking pattern of the pedestrian followed by time-series analysis of the walking pattern to develop a statistical model of pedestrian-induced vibration. Full-scale testing is conducted on a footbridge to validate the proposed technique under a wide range of pedestrian excitation. An experimental study is conducted to demonstrate the proposed method using the pedestrian's walking on a force plate monitored by video cameras and vibration sensors. Identified walking patterns are then compared with the actual walking patterns measured by motion sensors attached to the test subject. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]