237 research outputs found
The Future of Charge Card Networks
Get PDFThe general-purpose charge card is now ubiquitous and largely taken for granted. Annual charge card volume exceeds $5 trillion worldwide. Within the United States, nearly one billion cards are in use (about eight per household), and more than two billion worldwide. But charge cards, or more specifically, the cooperative networks that serve the largest card systems, Visa and MasterCard, are under legal attack through multiple lawsuits and under regulatory challenge in other countries. We trace in this essay multiple possible future 'scenarios'. This focus on possible futures distinguishes our work from many earlier studies of this subject.
Shared research priorities for pessary use in women with prolapse: results from a James Lind Alliance Priority Setting Partnership
Get PDFRehabilitation interventions for improving balance following stroke: an overview of systematic reviews
Get PDFBackground The aim of this study was to synthesize evidence from systematic reviews, to summarise the effects of rehabilitation interventions for improving balance in stroke survivors. Methods We conducted an overview of systematic reviews (SRs). We included Cochrane Systematic Reviews and non-Cochrane Systematic Reviews of randomized-controlled clinical trials and not-randomized clinical trials, in all types of stroke, comparing the effects of interventions, control interventions and no interventions on balance-related outcomes. We conducted a comprehensive search of electronic databases, from inception to December 2017. Data extracted included: number and type of participants, type of intervention, control intervention, method of assessing risk of bias of primary studies, balance outcome measures and results of statistical meta-analyses. Methodological quality of included reviews was assessed using AMSTAR 2. A narrative description of the characteristics of the SRs was provided and results of meta-analyses summarised with reference to their methodological quality. Results 51 SRs (248 primary studies and 10,638 participants) met the inclusion criteria and were included in the overview. All participants were adults with stroke. A wide variety of different balance and postural control outcomes were included. 61% of SRs focussed on the effectiveness of physical therapy, 20% virtual reality, 6% electromechanical devices, 4% Tai-Chi, whole body vibration and circuit training intervention, and 2% cognitive rehabilitation. The methodology of 54% of SRs were judged to be of a \u201clow or critically low\u201d quality, 23% \u201cmoderate\u201d quality and 22% \u201chigh\u201d quality. Conclusions There are 51 SRs of evidence relating to the effectiveness of interventions to improve balance in people with stroke, but the majority of these are of poor methodological quality, limiting our ability to draw clear implications. Only 22% of these SRs were judged to be of high quality, highlighting the need to address important methodological issues within rehabilitation research
Scanning training for rehabilitation of visual field loss due to stroke: identifying and exploring training tools in use
Get PDFSimultaneous bilaternal training for improving arm function after stroke
Get PDFBackground Simultaneous bilateral training, the completion of identical activities with both arms simultaneously, is one intervention to improve arm function and reduce impairment. Objectives To determine the effects of simultaneous bilateral training for improving arm function after stroke. Search strategy We searched the Cochrane Stroke Trials Register (last searched August 2009) and 10 electronic bibliographic databases including the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (The Cochrane Library Issue 3, 2009), MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL and AMED (August 2009). We also searched reference lists and trials registers. Selection criteria Randomised trials in adults after stroke, where the intervention was simultaneous bilateral training compared to placebo or no intervention, usual care or other upper limb (arm) interventions. Primary outcomes were performance in activities of daily living (ADL) and functional movement of the upper limb. Secondary outcomes were performance in extended activities of daily living and motor impairment of the arm. Data collection and analysis Two authors independently screened abstracts, extracted data and appraised trials. Assessment of methodological quality was undertaken for allocation concealment, blinding of outcome assessor, intention-to-treat, baseline similarity and loss to follow up. Main results We included 18 studies involving 549 relevant participants, of which 14 (421 participants) were included in the analysis (one within both comparisons). Four of the 14 studies compared the effects of bilateral training with usual care. Primary outcomes: results were not statistically significant for performance in ADL (standardised mean difference (SMD) 0.25, 95% confidence interval (CI) -0.14 to 0.63); functional movement of the arm (SMD -0.07, 95% CI -0.42 to 0.28) or hand (SMD -0.04, 95% CI -0.50 to 0.42). Secondary outcomes: no statistically significant results. Eleven of the 14 studies compared the effects of bilateral training with other specific upper limb (arm) interventions. Primary outcomes: no statistically significant results for performance of ADL (SMD -0.25, 95% CI -0.57 to 0.08); functional movement of the arm (SMD -0.20, 95% CI -0.49 to 0.09) or hand (SMD -0.21, 95% CI -0.51 to 0.09). Secondary outcomes: one study reported a statistically significant result in favour of another upper limb intervention for performance in extended ADL. No statistically significant differences were found for motor impairment outcomes. Authors' conclusions There is insufficient good quality evidence to make recommendations about the relative effect of simultaneous bilateral training compared to placebo, no intervention or usual care. We identified evidence that suggests that bilateral training may be no more (or less) effective than usual care or other upper limb interventions for performance in ADL, functional movement of the upper limb or motor impairment outcome
Optimizing the real-world impact of rehabilitation reviews: increasing the relevance and usability of systematic reviews in rehabilitation
Get PDFIn-Orbit Instrument-Pointing Calibration Using the Moon as a Target
Get PDFA method was developed for in-orbit measurement of the relative pointing of spectrometer channels, and the relationship between the spectrometer channels and the spacecraft coordinate system. In this innovation, individual scans of the Moon, from the three channels, were used to determine the position of the center of the Moon, with respect to channel-specific coordinates. Comparing the coordinates of the center of the Moon, obtained from individual channels, yields the relative pointing between the channels. Comparing the coordinates of the center of the Moon in one of the channels with the Moon ephemerides and with the spacecraft coordinate measurement, using the onboard star tracker, yields the relative orientation of the channel optical axes with respect to the spacecraft coordinates
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