Isokinetic assessment of the flexor-extensor balance of the knee in athletes with total rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament

The purpose of this study was to assess the flexor-extensor group of muscles of the knee in young athletes diagnosed with a total rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). Eighteen knees of 18 athletes (14 men and 4 women) with an average age of 21.6 years (range 16-32 years) were assessed with a Cybex 6000 model isokinetic apparatus. The average interval between occurrence of the injury and assessment was 10.2 months (range 2 - 48 months). There was an associated meniscal injury in eight of the knees. Athletes with any other kind of associated injury, limitation, or blockage of the movement of the joint, significant pain during the exam, or interval between injury and exam of less than two months were excluded from the study. The parameters studied were the peak torque-velocity and flexor-extensor relationships at the constant angular velocities of 60°/sec and 240°/sec. Previous warming-up was done by means of an ergometric bicycle and adaptation with 3 submaximal repetitions. The contra-lateral side, which presented no injury, was used as control. Peak torque (PT) at the constant velocity of 60°/sec was greater than that at 240°/sec for knees with and without injuries. However, there was no significant difference between the injured and uninjured sides at 60°/sec or at 240°/sec. The average value for the flexor-extensor relationship at 60°/sec on the injured was 60% (( 6), compared to 57% (( 10) on the contra-lateral side. At 240°/sec, the average value was 75% ((10) on the injured side, and 65% ((12) on the contra-lateral side. In conclusion, despite the complete rupture of the ACL of one knee, the average values for the flexor-extensor relationship were similar on the injured and uninjured sides at the velocity of 60°/sec. As the velocity increased, an increase in the values for the flexor-extensor relationship of the knee also occurred, indicating a tendency of the performance of the flexor muscle group to approach that of the extensor muscle group, and this tendency was more pronounced on the side of the injury.

Histopathologic and biochemical liver test abnormalities in chronic asymptomatic or oligosymptomatic alcoholics: a review

PURPOSE: To review the medical literature regarding the histopathologic and biochemical liver test abnormalities in chronic asymptomatic or oligosymptomatic alcoholics. METHODS: Review of articles in the MEDLINE and LILACS databases regarding serum levels and prevalence of alterations in aspartate-aminotransferase, alanine-aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, and total bilirubin, in relation to liver histopathology, with or without discrimination of types of histopathologic alteration. RESULTS: Global mean prevalence rates of aspartate-aminotransferase and alanine-aminotransferase alterations were 86.3% and 51.1%; in cases with steatosis they were 79.1% and 38.5%; and in cases of hepatitis, 90.1% and 58%. In all studies, prevalence rates of aspartate-aminotransferase alterations were significantly higher with lower variability than those of alanine-aminotransferase. Mean aspartate-aminotransferase levels were higher than 2N (N is the upper normal limit of the method employed) in all cases with hepatitis histopathology, while those of alanine-aminotransferase were 1.48N, in the same cases. Prevalence of alkaline phosphatase and total bilirubin abnormalities were 74.5% and 74.9% globally; in cases of steatosis, they were 70.9% and 67.9%; and in cases of hepatitis, 75.9% and 77.7%. Mean alkaline phosphatase levels were above the upper normal limit in all cases, but those of total bilirubin were above normal in 4 of 7 hepatitis studies. CONCLUSIONS: Prevalence of aspartate-aminotransferase alteration was consistently related to presence of histopathologic abnormalities; an enzyme level higher than 2N suggests the diagnosis of alcoholic hepatitis.

Sperm tail flexibility test: a simple test for selecting viable spermatozoa for intracytoplasmic sperm injection from semen samples without motile spermatozoa

PURPOSE: The objective was to describe the results of the injection of immotile spermatozoa with flexible tails when only immotile spermatozoa are present in the semen sample. METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted to analyze the procedure results for 10 couples who participated in our intracytoplasmic sperm injection program. The sperm tail was considered flexible when it moved up and down independently of the head movement, and it was considered inflexible when the movement occurred together (tail plus head). The fertilization and pregnancy rate were analyzed. RESULTS: The normal fertilization rate (presence of 2 pronuclei) was 30.3% (40/132), and the abnormal fertilization rate (presence of less than or more than 2 pronuclei) was 6.81% (9/132). A total of 52 embryos were obtained with 9 transfer procedures performed (pregnancy rate: 11.12%). CONCLUSIONS: The sperm tail flexibility test (STFT) is an easy and cost-effective way for selecting viable immotile spermatozoa and can be used as an alternative method for determining the viability of spermatozoa. This test seems to be a simple and risk-free method when compared to the swelling test.

Decisions of technology innovation: the role of indicators

This work presents research conducted to understand the role of indicators in decisions of technology innovation. A gap was detected in the literature of innovation and technology assessment about the use and influence of indicators in this type of decision. It was important to address this gap because indicators are often frequent elements of innovation and technology assessment studies. The research was designed to determine the extent of the use and influence of indicators in decisions of technology innovation, to characterize the role of indicators in these decisions, and to understand how indicators are used in these decisions. The latter involved the test of four possible explanatory factors: the type and phase of decision, and the context and process of construction of evidence. Furthermore, it focused on three Portuguese innovation groups: public researchers, business R&D&I leaders and policymakers. The research used a combination of methods to collect quantitative and qualitative information, such as surveys, case studies and social network analysis. This research concluded that the use of indicators is different from their influence in decisions of technology innovation. In fact, there is a high use of indicators in these decisions, but lower and differentiated differences in their influence in each innovation group. This suggests that political-behavioural methods are also involved in the decisions to different degrees. The main social influences in the decisions came mostly from hierarchies, knowledge-based contacts and users. Furthermore, the research established that indicators played mostly symbolic roles in decisions of policymakers and business R&D&I leaders, although their role with researchers was more differentiated. Indicators were also described as helpful instruments to conduct a reasonable interpretation of data and to balance options in innovation and technology assessments studies, in particular when contextualised, described in detail and with discussion upon the options made. Results suggest that there are four main explanatory factors for the role of indicators in these decisions: First, the type of decision appears to be a factor to consider when explaining the role of indicators. In fact, each type of decision had different influences on the way indicators are used, and each type of decision used different types of indicators. Results for policy-making were particularly different from decisions of acquisition and development of products/technology. Second, the phase of the decision can help to understand the role indicators play in these decisions. Results distinguished between two phases detected in all decisions – before and after the decision – as well as two other phases that can be used to complement the decision process and where indicators can be involved. Third, the context of decision is an important factor to consider when explaining the way indicators are taken into consideration in policy decisions. In fact, the role of indicators can be influenced by the particular context of the decision maker, in which all types of evidence can be selected or downplayed. More importantly, the use of persuasive analytical evidence appears to be related with the dispute existent in the policy context. Fourth and last, the process of construction of evidence is a factor to consider when explaining the way indicators are involved in these decisions. In fact, indicators and other evidence were brought to the decision processes according to their availability and capacity to support the different arguments and interests of the actors and stakeholders. In one case, an indicator lost much persuasion strength with the controversies that it went through during the decision process. Therefore, it can be argued that the use of indicators is high but not very influential; their role is mostly symbolic to policymakers and business decisions, but varies among researchers. The role of indicators in these decisions depends on the type and phase of the decision and the context and process of construction of evidence. The latter two are related to the particular context of each decision maker, the existence of elements of dispute and controversies that influence the way indicators are introduced in the decision-making process.

A practical approach to execute and test a lean startup

This paper practically applies the “Lean Startup Approach” by identifying, analyzing and executing a newly developed web-based business idea. Hypotheses were designed and tested with the construction of a minimum viable product – i.e. a landing page. In-depth interviews allowed deciding either to pivot or persevere the initial launch strategy. Overall, the aim was to collect as much valuable response as possible from customers and ultimately decide for a superior strategy while devoting the smallest amount of time and money.

Tensile properties of polymer repair materials - effect of test parameters

In this research, five types of polymer repair materials were selected for investigation of the influence of sample shape, deformation rate and test temperature on the mechanical properties determined with an uniaxial tensile test. The results showed the clear effect of measurement conditions on tensile strength, elongation and modulus of elasticity. The highest tensile strength and modulus of elasticity were exhibited by epoxy resin for the filling of concrete cracks, which achieved 1% elongation. The lowest coefficient of dispersion characterized the results of tensile test carried out using dumbbell samples at a deformation rate of 50 mm/min. The effect of temperature varied with the material type.

Assessment of overlay masonry strengthening system under in-plane monotonic and cyclic loading using the diagonal tensile test

The development of novel strengthening techniques to address the seismic vulnerability of masonry elements is gradually leading to simpler, faster and more effective strengthening strategies. In particular, the use of fabric reinforced cementitious matrix systems is considered of great potential, given the increase of ductility achieved with simple and economic strengthening procedures. To assess the effectiveness of these strengthening systems, and considering that the seismic action is involved, one important component of the structural behaviour is the in-plane cyclic response. In this work is discussed the applicability of the diagonal tensile test for the assessment of the cyclic response of strengthened masonry. The results obtained allowed to assess the contribution of the strengthening system to the increase of the load carrying capacity of masonry elements, as well as to evaluate the damage evolution and the stiffness degradation mechanisms developing under cyclic loading.

Bond of NSM FRP strengthened concrete: round robin test initiative

Despite the extensive research that has been conducted on the debonding behaviour of FRP strengthening systems, no standard methodology has been yet established on its experimental characterization. In this context, to assess the performance and reliability of small scale testing on NSM (near surface mounted) FRP strengthening systems, an experimental program was carried out on a series of nine NSM FRP strengthening systems, in the framework of an international Round Robin Testing (RRT). Eleven laboratories and seven manufacturers and suppliers participated in this extensive international exercise, which regarded both NSM and EBR FRP strengthening systems. Test results obtained for the NSM systems by the participating laboratories are discussed and compared in this paper to investigate the feasibility of the adopted single/double pulling shear test method, to investigate the mechanism of bond between NSM FRP reinforcement and concrete, and to investigate the level of variability obtained between the participating laboratories testing the same material batches. It is concluded that the tested variants in the adopted single/double shear pulling test have a significant influence, stressing the importance of the level of detail of standardized test protocols for bond verification. On overall, given the variants included in this study, the obtained variation in bond stress-slip behaviour between the laboratories remained fairly limited.

Qualitative risk assessment during polymer mortar test specimens preparation - methods comparison

Polymer binder modification with inorganic nanomaterials (NM) could be a potential and efficient solution to control matrix flammability of polymer concrete (PC) materials without sacrificing other important properties. Occupational exposures can occur all along the life cycle of a NM and “nanoproducts” from research through scale-up, product development, manufacturing, and end of life. The main objective of the present study is to analyse and compare different qualitative risk assessment methods during the production of polymer mortars (PM) with NM. The laboratory scale production process was divided in 3 main phases (pre-production, production and post-production), which allow testing the assessment methods in different situations. The risk assessment involved in the manufacturing process of PM was made by using the qualitative analyses based on: French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety method (ANSES); Control Banding Nanotool (CB Nanotool); Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne method (EPFL); Guidance working safely with nanomaterials and nanoproducts (GWSNN); Istituto Superiore per la Prevenzione e la Sicurezza del Lavoro, Italy method (ISPESL); Precautionary Matrix for Synthetic Nanomaterials (PMSN); and Stoffenmanager Nano. It was verified that the different methods applied also produce different final results. In phases 1 and 3 the risk assessment tends to be classified as medium-high risk, while for phase 2 the more common result is medium level. It is necessary to improve the use of qualitative methods by defining narrow criteria for the methods selection for each assessed situation, bearing in mind that the uncertainties are also a relevant factor when dealing with the risk related to nanotechnologies field.

Towards automated test and validation of SIP solutions

IP networks are currently the major communication infrastructure used by an increasing number of applications and heterogeneous services, including voice services. In this context, the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) is a signaling protocol widely used for controlling multimedia communication sessions such as voice or video calls over IP networks, thus performing vital functions in an extensive set of public and enter- prise solutions. However, the SIP protocol dissemination also entails some challenges, such as the complexity associated with the testing/validation processes of IMS/SIP networks. As a consequence, manual IMS/SIP testing solutions are inherently costly and time consuming tasks, being crucial to develop automated approaches in this specific area. In this perspective, this article presents an experimental approach for automated testing/validation of SIP scenarios in IMS networks. For that purpose, an automation framework is proposed allowing to replicate the configuration of SIP equipment from the pro- duction network and submit such equipment to a battery of tests in the testing network. The proposed solution allows to drastically reduce the test and validation times when compared with traditional manual approaches, also allowing to enhance testing reliability and coverage. The automation framework comprises of some freely available tools which are conveniently integrated with other specific modules implemented within the context of this work. In order to illustrate the advantages of the proposed automated framework, a real case study taken from a PT Inovação customer is presented comparing the time required to perform a manual SIP testing approach with the one time required when using the proposed auto- mated framework. The presented results clearly corroborate the advantages of using the presented framework.

Nutritional status and food intake at workplace as health indicators for industrial workers

This study aimed to verify the correlation among the nutritional composition of the food consumed in the work environment, the energy expenditure and the nutritional status of workers from different sectors (administration and production) in different industries. The anthropometric data, in addition to the energy expenditure and food intake at lunch were evaluated for 292 workers, all of them included in the Brazilian Worker Food Program (also called PAT). The food consumption was assessed from the direct observation of the meal, for five consecutive days. The obtained data were analyzed by Pearson correlation test and by a Principal Components Analysis. Prevalence of overweight was detected in the studied population, according to the Body Mass Index (BMI). A statistically significant difference was found in terms of the energy expenditure of physical activity and daily energy expenditure in relation to gender and the working sector. The obtained results indicate that there is significant positive correlation (p < 0.01) between the following variables: body weight and BMI (r = 0.84), weight and daily energy expenditure (DEE) (r = 0.52), BMI and DEE (r = 0.27), DEE and energy (r = 0.38), and energy and lipid intake (r = 0.50). These findings seems to indicate the importance of ensuring an adequate balance of nutrients at meals, due to the heterogeneity of workers, in particular in the case of those workers who perform tasks or functions requiring less energy expenditure.

Jet energy measurement and its systematic uncertainty in proton-proton collisions at s√=7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The jet energy scale (JES) and its systematic uncertainty are determined for jets measured with the ATLAS detector using proton–proton collision data with a centre-of-mass energy of s√=7 TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.7 fb −1 . Jets are reconstructed from energy deposits forming topological clusters of calorimeter cells using the anti- kt algorithm with distance parameters R=0.4 or R=0.6 , and are calibrated using MC simulations. A residual JES correction is applied to account for differences between data and MC simulations. This correction and its systematic uncertainty are estimated using a combination of in situ techniques exploiting the transverse momentum balance between a jet and a reference object such as a photon or a Z boson, for 20≤pjetT<1000 GeV and pseudorapidities |η|<4.5 . The effect of multiple proton–proton interactions is corrected for, and an uncertainty is evaluated using in situ techniques. The smallest JES uncertainty of less than 1 % is found in the central calorimeter region ( |η|<1.2 ) for jets with 55≤pjetT<500 GeV . For central jets at lower pT , the uncertainty is about 3 %. A consistent JES estimate is found using measurements of the calorimeter response of single hadrons in proton–proton collisions and test-beam data, which also provide the estimate for pjetT>1 TeV. The calibration of forward jets is derived from dijet pT balance measurements. The resulting uncertainty reaches its largest value of 6 % for low- pT jets at |η|=4.5 . Additional JES uncertainties due to specific event topologies, such as close-by jets or selections of event samples with an enhanced content of jets originating from light quarks or gluons, are also discussed. The magnitude of these uncertainties depends on the event sample used in a given physics analysis, but typically amounts to 0.5–3 %.

Prontidão escolar: validação de um instrumento Lollipop Test numa amostra portuguesa: crenças de progenitores e educadores de infância

Dissertação de mestrado integrado em Psicologia

Forest structure of artificial islands in the Tucuruí dam reservoir in northern Brazil: a test core-area model

Construction of hydroelectric dams in tropical regions has been contributing significantly to forest fragmentation. Alterations at edges of forest fragments impact plant communities that suffer increases in tree damage and dead, and decreases in seedling recruitment. This study aimed to test the core-area model in a fragmented landscape caused by construction of a hydroelectric power plant in the Brazilian Amazon. We studied variations in forest structure between the margin and interiors of 17 islands of 8-100 hectares in the Tucuruí dam reservoir, in two plots (30 and >100m from the margin) per island. Mean tree density, basal area, seedling density and forest cover did not significantly differ between marginal and interior island plots. Also, no significant differences were found in liana density, dead tree or damage for margin and interior plots. The peculiar topographic conditions associated with the matrix habitat and shapes of the island seem to extend edge effects to the islands' centers independently of the island size, giving the interior similar physical microclimatic conditions as at the edges. We propose a protocol for assessing the ecological impacts of edge effects in fragments of natural habitat surrounded by induced (artificial) edges. The protocol involves three steps: (1) identification of focal taxa of particular conservation or management interest, (2) measurement of an "edge function" that describes the response of these taxa to induced edges, and (3) use of a "Core-Area Model" to extrapolate edge function parameters to existing or novel situations.

Evaluating balance, stability and gait symmetry of stroke patients using kinematic and dynamic gait lab data

Dissertação de mestrado integrado em Engenharia Biomédica