Quantitative assessment of postural alignment in young adults based on photographs of anterior, posterior, and lateral views

Objective: Postural assessment through photography is a simple method that allows the acquisition of quantitative values to define the alignment of body segments. The purpose of this study was to quantitatively assess the postural alignment of several body segments in standing through anterior, posterior, and lateral views. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 122 subjects were initially evaluated. Seven subjects were excluded from the study after cluster analysis. The final sample had 115 subjects, 75% women with a mean age of 26 + 7 years. Photographs were taken from anterior, posterior, and lateral views after placement of markers on specific anatomical points. Photographs were analyzed using free Postural Analysis Software/Software of Postural Analysis (PAS/SAPO). Quantitative values for postural analysis variables were ascertained for head, upper and lower limbs, and trunk, along with the frequency of inclinations to the left and to the right. Results: Regarding the head, 88% of the sample presented some inclination, 67% of which was to the right. There was a predominance of right inclination of the shoulder and pelvis in 68% and 43% of study subjects, respectively. Lower limbs presented mean alignment of 178 in the anterior view, and the trunk showed predominant right inclination in 66% of participants. Conclusion: Small asymmetries were observed in anterior and posterior views. This study suggests that there is no symmetry in postural alignment and that small asymmetries represent the normative standard for posture in standing. (J Manipulative Physiol Ther 2011;34:371-380)

The effect of carbohydrate mouth rinse on maximal strength and strength endurance

It has been previously reported that carbohydrate (CHO) mouth rinse can improve exercise performance. The proposed mechanism involves increased activation of brain regions believed to be responsible for reward/motivation and motor control. Since strength-related performance is affected by central drive to the muscles, it seems reasonable to hypothesize that the positive CNS response to oral CHO sensing may counteract the inhibitory input from the muscle afferent pathways minimizing the drop in the central drive. The purpose of the current study was to test if CHO mouth rinse affects maximum strength and strength endurance performance. Twelve recreationally strength-trained healthy males (age 24.08 +/- 2.99 years; height 178.09 +/- 6.70 cm; weight 78.67 +/- 8.17 kg) took part in the study. All of the tests were performed in the morning, after an 8 h overnight fasting. Subjects were submitted to a maximum strength test (1-RM) and a strength endurance test (six sets until failure at 70% of 1-RM), in separate days under three different experimental conditions (CHO mouth rinse, placebo-PLA mouth rinse and control-CON) in a randomized crossover design. The CHO mouth rinse (25 ml) occurred before every attempt in the 1-RM test, and before every set in the endurance strength test. Blood glucose and lactate were measured immediately before and 5 min post-tests. There were no significant differences in 1-RM between experimental conditions (CHO 101 +/- 7.2 kg; PLA 101 +/- 7.4 kg; CON 101 +/- 7.2 kg; p = 0.98). Furthermore, there were no significance between trial differences in the number of repetitions performed in each set (p = 0.99) or the total exercise volume (number of repetitions x load lifted [kg]) (p = 0.98). A main effect for time (p < 0.0001) in blood lactate concentration was observed in both tests (1-RM and strength endurance). Blood glucose concentration did not differ between conditions. In conclusion, CHO mouth rinse does not affect maximum strength or strength endurance performance.

Technological advances and mechanistic basis for fungal biopulping

Biopulping fundamentals, technology and mechanisms are reviewed in this article. Mill evaluation of Eucalyptus grandis wood chips biotreated by Ceriporiopsis subvermispora on a 50-tonne pilot-plant demonstrated that equivalent energy savings can be obtained in lab- and mill-scale biopulping. Some drawbacks concerning limited improvements in pulp strength and contamination of the chip pile with opportunist fungi have been observed. The use of pre-cultured wood chips as inoculum seed for the biotreatment process minimized contamination problems related to the use of blended mycelium and corn-steep liquor in the inoculation step. Alkaline wash restored part of the brightness in biopulps and marketable brightness values were obtained by one-stage bleaching with 5% H2O2 when bio-TMP pulps were under evaluation. Considering the current scenario, the understanding of biopulping mechanisms has gained renewed attention because more resistant and competitive fungal species could be selected with basis on a function-directed screening project. A series of studies aimed to elucidate structural changes in lignin during wood biodegradation by C. subvermispora had indicated that lignin depolymerization occurs during initial stages of wood biotreatment. Aromatic hydroxyls did not increase with the split of aryl-ether linkages, suggesting that the ether-cleavage-products remain as quitione-type structures. On the other hand, cellulose is more resistant to the attack by C subvermispora. MnP-initiated lipid peroxidation reactions have been proposed to explain degradation of non-phenolic lignin substructures by C subvermispora, while the lack of cellobiohydrolases and the occurrence of systems able to suppress Fenton`s reaction in the cultures have explained non-efficient cellulose degradation by this biopulping fungus. (C) 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Superconductivity in Mo(5)SiB(2)

In the Mo-Si binary system. Mo(5)Si(3) crystallizes in the W(5)Si(3) (T(1) phase) structure type. However, when boron replaces silicon in this compound, a structural transition occurs from the W(5)Si(3) prototype structure to the Cr(5)B(3) prototype structure (T(2) phase) at the composition Mo(5)SiB(2). Mo(5)SiB(2) has received much attention in the literature as a candidate for structural application in high-temperature turbines, but its electronic and magnetic behavior has not been explored. In this work, we show that Mo(5)SiB(2) is a bulk superconducting material with critical temperature close to 5.8 K. The specific-heat, resistivity and magnetization measurements reveal that this material is a conventional type II BCS superconductor. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Characterization of commercial cellulases and their use in the saccharification of a sugarcane bagasse sample pretreated with dilute sulfuric acid

This study aimed to correlate the efficiency of enzymatic hydrolysis of the cellulose contained in a sugarcane bagasse sample pretreated with dilute H(2)SO(4) with the levels of independent variables such as initial content of solids and loadings of enzymes and surfactant (Tween 20), for two cellulolytic commercial preparations. The preparations, designated cellulase I and cellulase II, were characterized regarding the activities of total cellulases, endoglucanase, cellobiohydrolase, cellobiase, beta-glucosidase, xylanase, and phenoloxidases (laccase, manganese and lignin peroxidases), as well as protein contents. Both extracts showed complete cellulolytic complexes and considerable activities of xylanases, without activities of phenoloxidases. For the enzymatic hydrolyses, two 2(3) central composite full factorial designs were employed to evaluate the effects caused by the initial content of solids (1.19-4.81%, w/w) and loadings of enzymes (1.9-38.1 FPU/g bagasse) and Tween 20 (0.0-0.1 g/g bagasse) on the cellulose digestibility. Within 24 h of enzymatic hydrolysis, all three independent variables influenced the conversion of cellulose by cellulase I. Using cellulase II, only enzyme and surfactant loadings showed significant effects on cellulose conversion. An additional experiment demonstrated the possibility of increasing the initial content of solids to values much higher than 4.81% (w/w) without compromising the efficiency of cellulose conversion, consequently improving the glucose concentration in the hydrolysate.

H(infinity) filtering for rectangular discrete-time descriptor systems

This paper deals with the H(infinity) recursive estimation problem for general rectangular time-variant descriptor systems in discrete time. Riccati-equation based recursions for filtered and predicted estimates are developed based on a data fitting approach and game theory. In this approach, the nature determines a state sequence seeking to maximize the estimation cost, whereas the estimator tries to find an estimate that brings the estimation cost to a minimum. A solution exists for a specified gamma-level if the resulting cost is positive. In order to present some computational alternatives to the H(infinity) filters developed, they are rewritten in information form along with the respective array algorithms. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Synthesis of PID controllers for a class of time delay systems

In this paper we use the Hermite-Biehler theorem to establish results on the design of proportional plus integral plus derivative (PID) controllers for a class of time delay systems. Using the property of interlacing at high frequencies of the class of systems considered and linear programming we obtain the set of all stabilizing PID controllers. As far as we know, previous results on the synthesis of PID controllers rely on the solution of transcendental equations. This paper also extends previous results on the synthesis of proportional controllers for a class of delay systems Of retarded type to a larger class of delay systems. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Robust state prediction for descriptor systems

This paper deals with the problem of state prediction for descriptor systems subject to bounded uncertainties. The problem is stated in terms of the optimization of an appropriate quadratic functional. This functional is well suited to derive not only the robust predictor for descriptor systems but also that for usual state-space systems. Numerical examples are included in order to demonstrate the performance of this new filter. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Recursive linear estimation for general discrete-time descriptor systems

This paper considers the optimal linear estimates recursion problem for discrete-time linear systems in its more general formulation. The system is allowed to be in descriptor form, rectangular, time-variant, and with the dynamical and measurement noises correlated. We propose a new expression for the filter recursive equations which presents an interesting simple and symmetric structure. Convergence of the associated Riccati recursion and stability properties of the steady-state filter are provided. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Long-term stability of hydrogen and organic acids production in an anaerobic fluidized-bed reactor using heat treated anaerobic sludge inoculum

This study evaluates the stability of hydrogen and organic acids production in an anaerobic fluidized-bed reactor (AFBR) that contains expanded clay (2.8-3.35 mm in diameter) as a support medium and is operated on a long-term basis. The reactor was inoculated with thermally pre-treated anaerobic sludge and operated with decreasing hydraulic retention time (HRT), from 8 h to 1 h, at a controlled temperature of 30 degrees C and a pH of about 3.8. Glucose (2000 mg L(-1)) was used as the substrate, generating conversion rates of 92-98%. Decreasing the HRT from 8 h to 1 h led to an increase in average hydrogen-production rates, with a maximum value of 1.28 L h(-1) L(-1) for an HRT of 1 h. In general, hydrogen yield production increased as HRT decreased, reaching 2.29 mol of H(2)/mol glucose at an HRT of 2 h and yielding a maximum hydrogen content of 37% in the biogas. No methane was detected in the biogas throughout the period of operation. The main soluble metabolites (SMP) were acetic acid (46.94-53.84% of SMP) and butyric acid (34.51-42.16% of SMP), with less than 15.49% ethanol. The steady performance of the AFBR may be attributed to adequate thermal treatment of the inoculum, the selection of a suitable support medium for microbial adhesion, and the choice of satisfactory environmental conditions imposed on the system. The results show that stable hydrogen production and organic acids production were maintained in the AFBR over a period of 178 days. (C) 2009 International Association for Hydrogen Energy. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Enlarging the domain of attraction of stable MPC controllers, maintaining the output performance

This work presents an alternative way to formulate the stable Model Predictive Control (MPC) optimization problem that allows the enlargement of the domain of attraction, while preserving the controller performance. Based on the dual MPC that uses the null local controller, it proposed the inclusion of an appropriate set of slacked terminal constraints into the control problem. As a result, the domain of attraction is unlimited for the stable modes of the system, and the largest possible for the non-stable modes. Although this controller does not achieve local optimality, simulations show that the input and output performances may be comparable to the ones obtained with the dual MPC that uses the LQR as a local controller. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.