Alteration and recovery of arm usage in daily activities after rotator cuff surgery.

BACKGROUND: The objective measurement of dominant/nondominant arm use proportion in daily life may provide relevant information on healthy and pathologic arm behavior. This prospective case-control study explored the potential of such measurements as indicators of upper limb functional recovery after rotator cuff surgery. METHODS: Data on dominant/nondominant arm usage were acquired with body-worn sensors for 7 hours. The postsurgical arm usage of 21 patients was collected at 3, 6, and 12 months after rotator cuff surgery in the sitting, walking, and standing postures and compared with a reference established with 41 healthy subjects. The results were calculated for the dominant and nondominant surgical side subgroups at all stages. The correlations with clinical scores were calculated. RESULTS: Healthy right-handed and left-handed dominant arm usage was 60.2% (±6.3%) and 53.4% (±6.6%), respectively. Differences in use of the dominant side were significant between the right- and left-handed subgroups for sitting (P = .014) and standing (P = .009) but not for walking (P = .328). The patient group showed a significant underuse of 10.7% (±8.9%) at 3 months after surgery (P < .001). The patients recovered normal arm usage within 12 months, regardless of surgical side. The arm underuse measurement was weakly related to function and pain scores. CONCLUSION: This study provided new information on arm recovery after rotator cuff surgery using an innovative measurement method. It highlighted that objective arm underuse measurement is a valuable indicator of upper limb postsurgical outcome that captures a complementary feature to clinical scores.

Ohjelmistoalan PK-yrityksen tuotekehityksen suorituskyvyn mittaaminen

Tämän työn tarkoituksena oli kehittää suorituskykymittariston rakentamisen malli, jossa otetaan huomioon PK-yrityksen sekä ohjelmistokehitystyön erityispiirteet. Työssä käytiin ensin läpi teoriaa aiheesta, jonka jälkeen rakennettiin mittaristo kohdeyritykseen. Näiden pohjalta rakennettiin malli, jonka avulla PK-ohjelmistoyrityksen tuotekehitysorganisaatiolle voidaan rakentaa toimiva suorituskyvyn mittaristo. Tutkimusote on konstruktiivinen. Työssä tarkasteltiin suorituskyvyn määritelmän ja mittaamisen kehitystä. Käytiin läpi erilaisia olemassa olevia tasapainotettuja malleja sekä hyvien mittareiden ominaisuuksia. Teoriassa tutustuttiin myös PK-yritysten mittaamiseen, asiantuntijoiden mittaamisen erityispiirteisiin sekä ohjelmistotyön erityispiirteisiin. Tuloksena syntyi malli, jossa tasapaino syntyi eri näkökulmien kautta, mutta myös subjektiivisten ja objektiivisten mittareiden kautta. Mallin mukaan syntyneillä objektiivisilla ja subjektiivisilla mittareilla on eri käyttötarkoitukset. Kuten teoriassakin havaittiin, subjektiiviset mittarit sopivat paremmin johtoryhmän raportointiin, kun taas objektiiviset mittarit ovat toimivampia asiantuntijoiden mittaamisessa.

Participation in leisure and physical activity among children and adolescents with juvenile idiopathic arthritis

Contexte: L’arthrite juvénile idiopathique (AJI) est l’une des maladies chroniques auto-immune les plus répandues chez les enfants et est caractérisée par des enflures articulaires (maladie active), de la douleur, de la fatigue et des raideurs matinales pouvant restreindre leur niveau de participation aux activités quotidiennes (par exemple: les loisirs, l’activité physique, la mobilité et les soins personnels) à la maison comme à l’école. Participer aux activités de loisirs et à l’activité physique a des bienfaits au niveau de la santé et du développement de tous les enfants et démontrent aussi des effets positifs qui réduisent les symptômes des maladies chroniques telle l’AJI. Malgré ces bienfaits la participation aux loisirs chez les jeunes avec l’AJI demeure largement sous-étudiée. Objectifs: Cette étude vise à évaluer le niveau de participation aux loisirs et à l’activité physique chez les enfants et les adolescents atteints d’AJI, ainsi qu’à identifier les facteurs liés à la maladie, la personne et l’environnement. Méthodes : L’évaluation du niveau de participation et l’exploration des facteurs associés aux loisirs et à l’activité physique ont été complétés par l’entremise d’une revue systématique de la littérature, l’analyse de données d’un échantillon national représentatif d’enfants canadiens atteints d’arthrite âgés entre 5 et 14 ans (npondéré = 4350), ainsi que l’analyse standardisée du niveau de participation aux loisirs à l’aide du Children’s Assessment of Participation and Enjoyment (n=107) et la mesure objective de l’activité physique par accéléromètre (n=76) auprès d’un échantillon d’enfants (âgés entre 8 et 11 ans ) et d’adolescents (âgés entre 12 et 17 ans) suivis en clinique de rhumatologie à l’hôpital de Montréal pour enfants, Centre Universitaire de Santé McGill. Les résultats cliniques ont été comparés à des données normatives, ainsi qu’à un groupe contrôle sans AJI. Nous avons exploré les facteurs associés avec le niveau de participation aux loisirs et à l’activité physique en utilisant les modèles de régression linéaire multiple et l’analyse hiérarchique. Résultats : Les enfants et les adolescents atteints d’AJI participent à une multitude d’activités de loisirs; cependant ils sont moins souvent impliqués dans des activités physiques et de raffinement en comparaison aux autres types d’activités de loisirs. Ceux avec l’AJI étaient en général moins actifs que leurs pairs sans arthrite et la plupart n’atteignaient pas les recommandations nationales d’activité physique. Les garçons avec l’AJI participent plus souvent à des activités physiques et moins aux activités sociales, de raffinement et de développement de soi en comparaison avec les filles ayant l’AJI. En général, être un garçon, être plus âgé, avoir une meilleure motivation pour participer aux activités de motricité globale, avoir un statut socio-économique plus élevé et être d’origine culturelle canadienne sont associés à un niveau de participation plus élevé aux activités physiques. La préférence pour les activités de raffinement, un niveau d’éducation maternelle plus élevé et être une fille étaient associés à un niveau de participation plus élevé aux activités de raffinement. Conclusion: La participation aux loisirs et à l’activité physique en AJI est un concept complexe et semble surtout être expliqué par des facteurs personnels et environnementaux. L’identification des facteurs associés aux loisirs et à l’activité physique est très importante en AJI puisqu’elle peut permettre aux professionnels de la santé de développer des interventions significatives basées sur les activités préférées des enfants, améliorer l’observance au traitement et promouvoir des habitudes de vie saine.

Comparación de la presión del manguito del tubo orotraqueal estimada por palpación frente a la medición tomada con un manómetro

La presión que ejerce el manguito del tubo orotraqueal (TOT) sobre la mucosa al ser insuflado debe mantenerse en un rango de seguridad que evite complicaciones por sobreinflación o por desinsuflación. En nuestro medio, los instrumentos de medición objetiva no son de uso común. Objetivo: evaluar la concordancia de la presión del manguito del TOT estimada por palpación frente al uso de un manómetro manual en pacientes adultos sometidos a anestesia general. Materiales y métodos: se realizó un estudio de corte transversal que incluyó a 40 pacientes, a quienes, una vez intubados, dos anestesiólogos enmascarados, diferentes al que los intubó, palparon el manguito del TOT categorizándolo como sobreinflado, normal o desinflado; posteriormente, uno de los investigadores registró la medida con un manómetro en fase inspiratoria y espiratoria. Se consideró como rango normal de 20 a 30 cm H2O. Resultados: la concordancia de la estimación por palpación entre los dos anestesiólogos fue débil (Kappa = 0,21, ES: 0,11). La concordancia entre la estimación por palpación y la medición con el manómetro manual fue muy débil. Entre el primer anestesiólogo y el investigador en fase inspiratoria, . 0,08 (ES: 0,09), y en espiración, . 0,08 (ES: 0,07). Entre el segundo anestesiólogo y el investigador, . 0,05 (ES: 0,07) y 0,02 (ES: 0,06), respectivamente. Conclusión: el estudio muestra que la concordancia entre los métodos subjetivo y objetivo para determinar si el manguito del TOT está adecuadamente inflado fue débil. Se sugiere el empleo de métodos más objetivos para su determinación.

Niveles de actividad física, condición física y tiempo en pantallas en escolares de Bogotá, Colombia: Estudio FUPRECOL

Examina la relación entre los niveles de actividad física (AF) de forma objetiva, la condición física (CF) y el tiempo de exposición a pantallas en niños y adolescentes de Bogotá, Colombia.

Oxytocin increases eye contact during a real-time, naturalistic social interaction in males with and without autism

Autism spectrum conditions (autism) affect ~1% of the population and are characterized by deficits in social communication. Oxytocin has been widely reported to affect social-communicative function and its neural underpinnings. Here we report the first evidence that intranasal oxytocin administration improves a core problem that individuals with autism have in using eye contact appropriately in real-world social settings. A randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled, within-subjects design is used to examine how intranasal administration of 24 IU of oxytocin affects gaze behavior for 32 adult males with autism and 34 controls in a real-time interaction with a researcher. This interactive paradigm bypasses many of the limitations encountered with conventional static or computer-based stimuli. Eye movements are recorded using eye tracking, providing an objective measurement of looking patterns. The measure is shown to be sensitive to the reduced eye contact commonly reported in autism, with the autism group spending less time looking to the eye region of the face than controls. Oxytocin administration selectively enhanced gaze to the eyes in both the autism and control groups (transformed mean eye-fixation difference per second=0.082; 95% CI:0.025–0.14, P=0.006). Within the autism group, oxytocin has the most effect on fixation duration in individuals with impaired levels of eye contact at baseline (Cohen’s d=0.86). These findings demonstrate that the potential benefits of oxytocin in autism extend to a real-time interaction, providing evidence of a therapeutic effect in a key aspect of social communication.

Kinematic analysis in healthy and hip-dysplastic German Shepherd dogs

This study investigated kinematic patterns in clinically normal German Shepherd dogs (GSDs) compared to those with hip dysplasia and with no clinical signs of lameness. Two groups of GSDs, including 10 clinically healthy dogs (G1) and 10 with hip dysplasia (G2), were trotted on a treadmill at a constant speed. Kinematic data were collected by a 3-camera system and analysed by a motion-analysis program. Flexion and extension joint angles and angular velocities were determined for the shoulder, elbow, carpal, hip, stifle, and tarsal joints.Within each group, the differences between the right and left limbs in all kinematic variables were not significant. Minimum angle, angular displacement and minimum angular velocity did not differ between groups. Significant differences were observed in the maximum angular velocity and maximum angle of the hip joint (dysplastic. >. healthy), and in the maximum angular velocity of the carpal joint (healthy. >. dysplastic). It was concluded that, when trotting on a treadmill, dysplastic dogs with no signs of lameness may present joint kinematic alterations in the hind as well as the forelimbs. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd.

Efeitos da vibração simultânea nas propriedades mecânicas de juntas de aço ASTM A131 soldadas pelo processo arame tubular (FCAW)

Pós-graduação em Engenharia Mecânica - FEG

EVALUATION OF THE PASSIVE RESISTIVE TORQUE IN FEMALE ATHLETES WITH ANKLE SPRAIN

Introduction: The ankle sprain is one of the most common injuries in athletes. Direct evaluation of the ligament laxity can be obtained through the objective measurement of extreme passive inversion and eversion movements, but there are few studies on the use of the evaluation of the passive resistive torque of the ankle to assess the capsule and ligaments resistance. Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the inversion and eversion passive torque in athletes with and without ankle sprains history. Method: 32 female basketball and volleyball athletes (16.06 +/- 0.8 years old; 67.63 +/- 8.17 kg; 177.8 +/- 6.47 cm) participated in this study. Their ankles were divided into two groups: control group (29), composed of symptom-free ankles, and ankle sprain group, composed of ankles which have suffered injury (29). The resistive torque at maximum passive ankle movement was measured by the isokinetic dynamometer and the muscular activity by electromyography system. The athletes performed 2 repetitions of inversion and eversion movement at 5, 10 and 20 degrees/s and the same protocol only at maximum inversion movement. Results: The resistive passive torque during the inversion and eversion was lower in the ankle sprain group. This group also showed lower torques at the maximum inversion movement. No differences were observed between inversion and eversion movement. Conclusions: Ankle sprain leads to lower passive torque, indicating reduction of the resistance of the lateral ankle ligaments and mechanical laxity.

Portable light transmission measuring system for preserved corneas

Abstract Background The authors have developed a small portable device for the objective measurement of the transparency of corneas stored in preservative medium, for use by eye banks in evaluation prior to transplantation. Methods The optical system consists of a white light, lenses, and pinholes that collimate the white light beams and illuminate the cornea in its preservative medium, and an optical filter (400–700 nm) that selects the range of the wavelength of interest. A sensor detects the light that passes through the cornea, and the average corneal transparency is displayed. In order to obtain only the tissue transparency, an electronic circuit was built to detect a baseline input of the preservative medium prior to the measurement of corneal transparency. The operation of the system involves three steps: adjusting the "0 %" transmittance of the instrument, determining the "100 %" transmittance of the system, and finally measuring the transparency of the preserved cornea inside the storage medium. Results Fifty selected corneas were evaluated. Each cornea was submitted to three evaluation methods: subjective classification of transparency through a slit lamp, quantification of the transmittance of light using a corneal spectrophotometer previously developed, and measurement of transparency with the portable device. Conclusion By comparing the three methods and using the expertise of eye bank trained personnel, a table for quantifying corneal transparency with the new device has been developed. The correlation factor between the corneal spectrophotometer and the new device is 0,99813, leading to a system that is able to standardize transparency measurements of preserved corneas, which is currently done subjectively.

Einfluss neurologischer Krankheitsbilder auf die Vigilanz gemessen mit dem Pupillographischen Schläfrigkeitstest

Zahlreiche neurologische Erkrankungen wie Morbus Parkinson oder Epilepsien sind mit nicht erholsamem Schlaf und erhöhter Tagesschläfrigkeit assoziiert. Andere Erkrankungen wie Multiple Sklerose induzieren zwar Fatigue / Müdigkeit, aber keine objektivierbar erhöhte Einschlafneigung. Aufgrund der komplexen Interaktionen von Grunderkrankung, Krankheitsfolgen und Medikationseffekten differieren subjektive Einschätzung und objektive Maße von Schläfrigkeit oft erheblich. Der pupillographische Schläfrigkeitstest (PST) ist ein effizientes und objektives Verfahren zur Bestimmung der Vigilanz bzw. Tagesschläfrigkeit, für neurologische Patienten unter naturalistischen Bedingungen liegen aber nur wenige Daten vor.

Performance of a new, 3D-monitor based random-dot stereotest for children under 4 years of age

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to determine the performance of a new, 3D-monitor based, objective stereotest in children under the age of four. METHODS: Random-dot circles (diameter 10 cm, crossed, disparity of 0.34 degrees) randomly changing their position were presented on an 3D-monitor while eye movements were monitored by infrared photo-oculography. If > or = 3 consecutive stimuli were seen, a positive response was assumed. One hundred thirty-four normal children aged 2 months to 4 years (average 17+/-15.3 months) were examined. RESULTS: Below the age of 12 months, we were not able to obtain a response to the 3D stimulus. For older children the following rates of positive responses were found: 12-18 months 25%, 18-24 months 10%, 24-30 months 16%, 30-36 months 57%, 36-42 months 100%, and 42-48 months 91%. Multiple linear logistic regression showed a significant influence on stimulus recognition of the explanatory variables age (p<0.00001) and child cooperation (p<0.001), but not of gender (p>0.1). CONCLUSIONS: This 3D-monitor based stereotest allows an objective measurement of random-dot stereopsis in younger children. It might open new ways to screen children for visual abnormalities and to study the development of stereovision. However, the current experimental setting does not allow determining random-dot stereopsis in children younger than 12 months.

Assessment of smoking behaviour in a dental setting: a 1-year follow-up study using self-reported questionnaire data and exhaled carbon monoxide levels.

OBJECTIVES This study analyses the changes in smoking habits over the course of 1 year in a group of patients referred to an oral medicine unit. MATERIALS AND METHODS Smoking history and behaviour were analysed at baseline and after 1 year based on a self-reported questionnaire and on exhaled carbon monoxide levels [in parts per million (ppm)]. During the initial examination, all smokers underwent tobacco use prevention and cessation counselling. RESULTS Of the initial group of 121 patients, 98 were examined at the follow-up visit. At the baseline examination, 33 patients (33.67 %) indicated that they were current smokers. One year later, 14 patients (42.24 % out of the 33 smokers of the initial examination) indicated that they had attempted to stop smoking at least once over the follow-up period and 15.15 % (5 patients) had quit smoking. The mean number of cigarettes smoked per day by current smokers decreased from 13.10 to 12.18 (p = 0.04). The exhaled CO level measurements showed very good correlation with a Spearman's coefficient 0.9880 for the initial visit, and 0.9909 for the follow-up examination. For current smokers, the consumption of one additional cigarette per day elevated the CO measurements by 0.77 ppm (p < 0.0001) at the baseline examination and by 0.84 ppm (p < 0.0001) at the 1-year follow-up. CONCLUSIONS In oral health care, where smoking cessation is an important aspect of the treatment strategy, the measurement of exhaled carbon monoxide shows a very good correlation with a self-reported smoking habit. CLINICAL RELEVANCE Measurement of exhaled carbon monoxide is a non-invasive, simple and objective measurement technique for documenting and monitoring smoking cessation and reduction.

MEMLS3&a: Microwave Emission Model of Layered Snowpacks adapted to include backscattering

The Microwave Emission Model of Layered Snowpacks (MEMLS) was originally developed for microwave emissions of snowpacks in the frequency range 5–100 GHz. It is based on six-flux theory to describe radiative transfer in snow including absorption, multiple volume scattering, radiation trapping due to internal reflection and a combination of coherent and incoherent superposition of reflections between horizontal layer interfaces. Here we introduce MEMLS3&a, an extension of MEMLS, which includes a backscatter model for active microwave remote sensing of snow. The reflectivity is decomposed into diffuse and specular components. Slight undulations of the snow surface are taken into account. The treatment of like- and cross-polarization is accomplished by an empirical splitting parameter q. MEMLS3&a (as well as MEMLS) is set up in a way that snow input parameters can be derived by objective measurement methods which avoid fitting procedures of the scattering efficiency of snow, required by several other models. For the validation of the model we have used a combination of active and passive measurements from the NoSREx (Nordic Snow Radar Experiment) campaign in Sodankylä, Finland. We find a reasonable agreement between the measurements and simulations, subject to uncertainties in hitherto unmeasured input parameters of the backscatter model. The model is written in Matlab and the code is publicly available for download through the following website: http://www.iapmw.unibe.ch/research/projects/snowtools/memls.html.

El color en las aceitunas negras naturales de mesa : nueva técnica de mensura digitalizada para optimizar el método de oscurecimiento natural

Se aplicó un nuevo método para la evaluación objetiva del color en aceitunas de mesa, basado en el análisis de la intensidad de reflexión de cada uno de los colores primarios que componen la luz blanca (rojo, verde y azul), según las longitudes de onda del Sistema RGB. Se trabajó con programas informáticos para el análisis de imágenes digitales color tipo BMP de 24 bits. Este trabajo proporciona mayor información sobre el pardeamiento de las aceitunas naturales en salmuera, lo que sería muy útil para incrementar la efectividad del proceso. El método propuesto es rápido y no destructivo, prometiendo ser muy práctico ya que permite que una misma muestra pueda ser evaluada en el tiempo. Se investigaron los cambios de color en aceitunas elaboradas naturalmente, con diferentes grados de madurez (pintas, rojas y negras) y a diferentes valores de pH (3,6 - 4,0 - 4,5), expuestas al aire durante períodos crecientes de tiempo. Se cuantificó el grado de oscurecimiento a través de Índices de Intensidad de Reflexión. La evolución del índice de reflexión en función del tiempo generó una curva polinomial de 4° grado que reveló el comportamiento sigmoidal del fenómeno de pardeamiento enzimático, con la máxima correlación a las 8 horas de aireación. Esta función permitiría predecir el fenómeno de pardeamiento en las aceitunas negras y representa una medición objetiva del grado relativo de pardeamiento. La evolución del color rojo (λ = 700,0 nm) exhibió la mayor correlación con el proceso de pardeamiento. Las aceitunas rojas naturales a pH 4,5 presentaron óptimo pardeamiento. El espectro de reflexión para el color azul (λ = 435,8 nm) se sugiere como medida de la actividad de la enzima PPO (polifenoloxidasa).