Twitch and M-wave potentiation induced by intermittent maximal voluntary quadriceps contractions: Differences between direct quadriceps and femoral nerve stimulation.

Introduction: To investigate differences in twitch and M-wave potentiation in the quadriceps femoris when electrical stimulation is applied over the quadriceps muscle belly versus the femoral nerve trunk. Methods: M-waves and mechanical twitches were evoked using direct quadriceps muscle and femoral nerve stimulation between 48 successive isometric maximal voluntary contractions (MVC) from 10 young, healthy subjects. Potentiation was investigated by analyzing the changes in M-wave amplitude recorded from the vastus medialis (VM) and vastus lateralis (VL) muscles and in quadriceps peak twitch force. Results: Potentiation of twitch, VM M-wave, and VL M-wave were greater for femoral nerve than for direct quadriceps stimulation (P<0.05). Despite a 50% decrease in MVC force, the amplitude of the M-waves increased significantly during exercise. Conclusions: In addition to enhanced electrogenic Na(+) -K(+) pumping, other factors (such as synchronization in activation of muscle fibers and muscle architectural properties) might significantly influence the magnitude of M-wave enlargement. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Internet use by patients with psychiatric disorders in search for general and medical informations

BACKGROUND: Internet is commonly used by the general population, notably for health information-seeking. There has been little research into its use by patients treated for a psychiatric disorder. AIM: To evaluate the use of internet by patients with psychiatric disorders in searching for general and medical information. METHODS: In 2007, 319 patients followed in a university hospital psychiatric out-patient clinic, completed a 28-items self-administered questionnaire. RESULTS: Two hundred patients surveyed were internet users. Most of them (68.5%) used internet in order to find health-related information. Only a small part of the patients knew and used criteria reflecting the quality of contents of the websites consulted. Knowledge of English and private Internet access were the factors significantly associated with the search of information on health on Internet. CONCLUSIONS: Internet is currently used by patients treated for psychiatric disorders, especially for medical seeking information.

Évaluation de la qualité des sites internet francophones traitant de la dépendance à l'alcool

L'objectif de cet article est d'investiguer de manière systématique la qualité des sites internet francophones traitant de la dépendance à l'alcool. Les auteurs ont examiné les 20 premières pages identifiées par trois moteurs de recherche généraux avec deux mots clés. Au total, 45 sites pertinents ont été évalués. Les auteurs concluent que la qualité globale des sites est relativement pauvre, spécialement pour la description des traitements possibles, et largement variable. La qualité de contenu n'est pas corrélée avec les autres aspects évalués tels que l'interactivité, l'esthétisme ou le dévoilement de l'identité des auteurs ou de leur source.

New reference tables and user-friendly Internet application for predicted heart weights.

BACKGROUND: Knowledge of normal heart weight ranges is important information for pathologists. Comparing the measured heart weight to reference values is one of the key elements used to determine if the heart is pathological, as heart weight increases in many cardiac pathologies. The current reference tables are old and in need of an update. AIMS: The purposes of this study are to establish new reference tables for normal heart weights in the local population and to determine the best predictive factor for normal heart weight. We also aim to provide technical support to calculate the predictive normal heart weight. METHODS: The reference values are based on retrospective analysis of adult Caucasian autopsy cases without any obvious pathology that were collected at the University Centre of Legal Medicine in Lausanne from 2007 to 2011. We selected 288 cases. The mean age was 39.2 years. There were 118 men and 170 women. Regression analyses were performed to assess the relationship of heart weight to body weight, body height, body mass index (BMI) and body surface area (BSA). RESULTS: The heart weight increased along with an increase in all the parameters studied. The mean heart weight was greater in men than in women at a similar body weight. BSA was determined to be the best predictor for normal heart weight. New reference tables for predicted heart weights are presented as a web application that enable the comparison of heart weights observed at autopsy with the reference values. CONCLUSIONS: The reference tables for heart weight and other organs should be systematically updated and adapted for the local population. Web access and smartphone applications for the predicted heart weight represent important investigational tools.

An architecture for adaptive replication-based multimedia streaming in P2P networks

This PhD thesis addresses the issue of scalable media streaming in large-scale networking environments. Multimedia streaming is one of the largest sink of network resources and this trend is still growing as testified by the success of services like Skype, Netflix, Spotify and Popcorn Time (BitTorrent-based). In traditional client-server solutions, when the number of consumers increases, the server becomes the bottleneck. To overcome this problem, the Content-Delivery Network (CDN) model was invented. In CDN model, the server copies the media content to some CDN servers, which are located in different strategic locations on the network. However, they require heavy infrastructure investment around the world, which is too expensive. Peer-to-peer (P2P) solutions are another way to achieve the same result. These solutions are naturally scalable, since each peer can act as both a receiver and a forwarder. Most of the proposed streaming solutions in P2P networks focus on routing scenarios to achieve scalability. However, these solutions cannot work properly in video-on-demand (VoD) streaming, when resources of the media server are not sufficient. Replication is a solution that can be used in these situations. This thesis specifically provides a family of replication-based media streaming protocols, which are scalable, efficient and reliable in P2P networks. First, it provides SCALESTREAM, a replication-based streaming protocol that adaptively replicates media content in different peers to increase the number of consumers that can be served in parallel. The adaptiveness aspect of this solution relies on the fact that it takes into account different constraints like bandwidth capacity of peers to decide when to add or remove replicas. SCALESTREAM routes media blocks to consumers over a tree topology, assuming a reliable network composed of homogenous peers in terms of bandwidth. Second, this thesis proposes RESTREAM, an extended version of SCALESTREAM that addresses the issues raised by unreliable networks composed of heterogeneous peers. Third, this thesis proposes EAGLEMACAW, a multiple-tree replication streaming protocol in which two distinct trees, named EAGLETREE and MACAWTREE, are built in a decentralized manner on top of an underlying mesh network. These two trees collaborate to serve consumers in an efficient and reliable manner. The EAGLETREE is in charge of improving efficiency, while the MACAWTREE guarantees reliability. Finally, this thesis provides TURBOSTREAM, a hybrid replication-based streaming protocol in which a tree overlay is built on top of a mesh overlay network. Both these overlays cover all peers of the system and collaborate to improve efficiency and low-latency in streaming media to consumers. This protocol is implemented and tested in a real networking environment using PlanetLab Europe testbed composed of peers distributed in different places in Europe.

Qualités des sites internet anglophones traitant du trouble obsessionnel complusif

Enjeux et contexte : Dans les questions de santé mentale, internet constitue de plus en plus une source d'information pour les personnes souffrant de troubles psychiatriques ainsi que de leurs proches. D'autre part, le trouble obsessionnel compulsif revêt une importance grandissante et bénéficie d'un intérêt croissant en raison de sa fréquence et de la charge qu'il représente pour le patient et pour la société. Les patients souffrant de trouble obsessionnel compulsif, qu'ils soient diagnostiqués ou non, ainsi que leurs proches peuvent être amenés à rechercher une information de bonne qualité sur net sur le sujet. Cette étude vise à évaluer la qualité de l'information issue de l'internet concernant les sites anglophones traitant du trouble obsessionnel compulsif et de comparer les résultats des requêtes en utilisant un moteur de recherche général (Google) à celles obtenues avec un moteur de recherche spécialisé (Omni Medical Search). Des mots-clés relatifs au trouble obsessionnel compulsif ont été introduits dans Google et Omni Medical Search. Les sites retenus ont été évalués selon leur responsabilité, interactivité, lisibilité et la qualité de leur contenu. Le Label HON et la version brève de l'échelle DISCERN ont été utilisés comme indicateurs possibles de la qualité du contenu. Sur les 235 adresses retrouvées, 53 sites retenus ont été analysés. Résultats : La qualité du contenu des sites examinés est relativement bonne. L'utilisation d'un moteur de recherche spécialisé ne constitue pas un avantage par comparaison au moteur général utilisé par la grande majorité des internautes. Un score > 16 de la version brève du DISCERN est associé à une meilleure qualité du contenu. En conclusion : cette étude montre que le contenu des sites web concernant le trouble obsessionnel compulsif est acceptable. L'utilisation d'un moteur de recherche spécialisé n'offre pas d'avantage par rapport à Google. Comme implications pratiques : internet renferme des sites de haute qualité sur le trouble obsessionnel compulsif. L'accès à ces sites ne nécessite pas l'utilisation d'un moteur de recherche spécialisé. En revanche, une discussion entre le patient et le soignant à propos de l'information disponible sur internet demeure indispensable Perspectives : en dépit des limitations de notre étude, on peut dire que l'information contenue dans le web concernant le trouble obsessionnel compulsif est acceptable. Le contenu et la présentation de cette information pourraient être améliorés. Quant à l'internaute qui cherche une information de qualité, il pourrait être guidé par deux éléments : le HON et la version brève du DISCERN.

Equivalence of paper and pencil vs internet forms of the ZKPQ-50-CC in Spanish and French samples

This study was designed to check for the equivalence of the ZKPQ-50-CC (Spanish and French versions) through Internet on-line (OL) and paper and pencil (PP) answer format. Differences in means and devia- tions were significant in some scales, but effect sizes are minimal except for Sociability in the Spanish sample. Alpha reliabilities are also very similar in both versions with no significant differences between formats. A robust factorial structure was found for the two formats and the average congruency coefficients were 0.98. The goodness-of-fit indexes obtained by confirmatory factorial analysis are very similar to those obtained in the ZKPQ-50-CC validation study and they do not differ between the two formats. The multi-group analysis confirms the equivalence among the OL-PP formats in both countries. These results in general support the validity and reliability of the Internet as a method in investigations using the ZKPQ-50-CC.

Wählen per Internet verändert die Schweiz

Der Autor befasst sich mit dem Thema e-Voting am Beispiel der Schweiz. Umwählen zu gehen, begibt sich der Bürger auf Wählerseiten im Internet. Dort beantwortet er zuerst 10 Fragen zu bedeutsamen politischen Themen. Je nach seinen Antworten werden die dafür politisch eintretenden Kandidaten vorgestellt. Der Wähler kann sich nun detailliert über sie und ihre politischen Positionen informieren und dann entscheiden, welchem Politiker er seine Stimme gibt. Voraussetzung hierfür ist, dass die Kandidaten präzise Angaben über ihre Person und die von ihnen vertretene Politik im Internet zugänglich machen, da sie ansonsten auf den Wahlseiten nicht zugelassen würden und somit ihre Chancen, gewählt zu werden, minimieren würden. Hat der Bürger sich festgelegt, schickt er das Dokument zur Auswertung an einen Server des Staates, der dann innerhalb von Stunden das neue Wahlergebnis präsentieren könnte. Die Wahlseiten selbst werden wahrscheinlich nicht vom Staat kontrolliert, da die Regierung diese manipulieren könnte. Wenn aber die Gestaltung der Seiten in private Hand gelegt wird, besteht die Gefahr, dass die Listen nicht als offizielle Wahllisten anerkannt werden. Hier besteht also noch Klärungsbedarf. Ein klarer Vorteil solcher Wahlseiten ist, dass die Ziele und Interessen der Politiker noch transparenter werden. Das Internet bietet dem Bürger die Möglichkeit, seine persönlichen Interessen mit denen der Politiker zu vergleichen und sich dann nach einem Abwägunsprozess zu entscheiden. ,,In einigen Jahren werden hier zu Lande Wahlurnen ganz verschwinden", prophezeit der Autor und verweist auf die Arbeit einer Projektgruppe, die die noch offenen Fragen des E-Votings klären will.

Reproducibility of twitch mouth pressure, sniff nasal inspiratory pressure, and maximal inspiratory pressure.

Twitch mouth pressure (Pmo,tw) during magnetic phrenic nerve stimulation and sniff nasal inspiratory pressure (SNIP) were recently proposed as alternative noninvasive methods for assessing inspiratory muscle strength. This study aimed to compare their reproducibility with maximal inspiratory pressure (MIP) in normal subjects. Ten healthy subjects were studied at functional residual capacity in semirecumbent position. Cervical magnetic phrenic nerve stimulation was performed during gentle expiration against an occlusion incorporating a small leak. Constancy of stimulation was controlled by recording diaphragmatic electromyogram. Within and between-session reproducibility of pressure were studied for Pmo,tw, SNIP, and MIP. The subjects were studied during a session of 10 manoeuvres repeated after 1 day and 1 month. The mean values were 16 cmH2O for Pmo,tw, 118 cmH2O for SNIP, and 115 cmH2O for MIP. For the three tests, the within subject variation was small in relation to between-subject variation, with the intraclass correlation coefficient ranging 0.79-0.90 for Pmo,tw, 0.85-0.92 for SNIP, and 0.88-0.92 for MIP. At 1 day interval, the coefficient of repeatability (2 SD of differences) was 3.6 cmH2O for Pmo,tw, 32 cmH2O for SNIP and 28 cmH2O for MIP. At 1 month interval, the coefficient of repeatability was 5.8 cmH2O for Pmo,tw, 23 cmH2O for SNIP and 21 cmH2O for MIP. We conclude that the within session reproducibility of the new tests twitch mouth pressure and sniff nasal inspiratory pressure is sufficient to be clinically useful. For sniff nasal inspiratory pressure, the between session reproducibility established after 1 day was maintained after 1 month. For twitch mouth pressure, the between session reproducibility declined slightly after 1 month. These characteristics should be considered when using these methods to follow an individual patient over time.