Obstacle Crossing with Dual Tasking is a Danger for Individuals with Alzheimer's Disease and for Healthy Older People

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Analysis of Structural Integrity Using an ARTMAP-Fuzzy Artificial Neural Network

This paper presents the application of artificial neural networks in the analysis of the structural integrity of a building. The main objective is to apply an artificial neural network based on adaptive resonance theory, called ARTMAP-Fuzzy neural network and apply it to the identification and characterization of structural failure. This methodology can help professionals in the inspection of structures, to identify and characterize flaws in order to conduct preventative maintenance to ensure the integrity of the structure and decision-making. In order to validate the methodology was modeled a building of two walk, and from this model were simulated various situations (base-line condition and improper conditions), resulting in a database of signs, which were used as input data for ARTMAP-Fuzzy network. The results show efficiency, robustness and accuracy.

Positive effects of auditory cue in locomotor pattern of people with Parkinson's disease (off and on medication)

Gait disorders are identified in people with Parkinson’s disease. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of auditory cues and medication on kinematic, kinetic and EMG parameters, during different gait phases of people with PD and healthy elderly. Thirty subjects distributed in two groups (Group 1, PD patients off and on medication; Group 2, healthy elderly) participated in this study and were instructed to walk in two experimental conditions: non-cued and cued. Therefore, kinematic, kinetic and electromyography analyses were utilized to investigate the locomotor pattern. Changes in locomotor pattern (greater muscular activity) with auditory cue were observed for PD patients. Regarding the medication, locomotor parameter improvement was observed after levodopa intake in association with the auditory cue. These results confirm the hypothesis about the external cues therapy that could be used as a complement to drug therapy to achieve improvement in the locomotor pattern of PD patients.

Contribuição da amplitude de movimento articular do joelho na marcha de crianças com paralisia cerebral espástica

Individuals with spastic cerebral palsy show muscle weakness, difficulties in the control of agonist and antagonist muscles, decreased range of motion and tonus and sensibility alterations, especially in knee joint. These problems can interfere on the performance of functional activities such gait. The aim of this study was to analyze the contribution of knee range of motion on gait of hemiplegic and diplegic children considering their asymmetries. Twelve children, 6 hemiplegics e 6 diplegics from 7 to 12 years of age (age average= 9,5 ± 1,93) took part. Spasticity was assessed by the Ashworth’s Modified Scale and the passive knee range of motion by an eletrogoniometer. The task was to walk on a walkway of 8m long, in their preferred speed, in 6 attempts, been 3 on right and 3 on left sagital planes. Eigth passive markers were bilaterally fixed for the kinematic record. Orthogonally to the walkway, two digital camcorders were assembled on the sagital plane. The fotogrametric procedures were performed by the Dvideow 6.3 software. The Matlab 7.0.1 software was used to filter and to calculate the dependent variables. The U test of Mann- Whitney found differences to the cerebral palsy type for knee extension/hiperextension (U = - 2.943; p= 0.003), knee relative angle at heel contact (U = - 5.992; p= 0.001) and knee range during stride (U = - 4.099; p= 0.001). The Wilcoxon’s test revealed differences according to the asymmetries for the hemiplegics only for the knee relative angle at heel contact (T= - 2.635; p<0.008). The contributions of passive knee range of motion, revealed by the Spearman correlations, for the more afected limb of the diplegics, showed that the knee extension/hiperextension interfere on the cadence, stride duration and step width; the knee relative angle at heel contact change the stride length and duration and cadence; and the...(Complete abstract click electronic access below)

Efeito da prática do futebol no desempenho em agilidade, velocidade e coordenação de meninos na categoria dentinho ou sub 11 (10 e 11 anos de idade)

In Brazil, the practice of Soccer is encouraged very early. It is common remark that parents enroll their sons into soccer schools, promoting the involvement of these children in formal practice. However, there are not many studies that assess the effects of this practice in the physical capacities of children. Thus, the question that guides this study is: children who practice soccer systematically present better development of physical, especially agility, coordination and speed? The objective of this study was to compare the performance in velocity tests, agility and coordination of boys of 10 and 11 years, category dentinho or Sub-11, practitioners of soccer in schools and non practicing. The study included male children, born in 1997 and 1998, formed two groups: group of practitioners of soccer and group of non practicing. To belong to the group of practitioners, the child was regularly engaged for at least 1 year, with 1 hour daily and 2 to 3 times per week. The participants of the group of non practicing were not involved in regular practice of soccer and were paired in weight and stature with participants of the group of practitioners of soccer. Each participant was individually assessed in neutral environment and without foreign interference. For the assessment of the agility, was utilized the (shuttle run) test. The race test 30 meters stopped was employed for the assessment of the speed. The test of fiddling between the cones was employed to measure the coordination. The time spent to perform 1 attempt to each test was used for the comparison between groups. These data were treated, initially, by descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) and, subsequently, were compared by means of Anova, for independent samples. The significance level was maintained at 5%. Through analysis of the results the conclusion is that the regular practice ...(Complete abstract click electronic access below)

Análise da prática de meditação em duas escolas do município de Rio Claro - SP

Nowadays, meditation had become larger than the mystic’s scope, entering the academy through the scientific interest in this topic. Results documented for so many centuries or the experienced monks that practice meditation for a long time are the aims for researches that want, ultimately, establish the real effects of such techniques upon the human body. Research has gone far, and many effects can be evaluated using more precise methods, specially in the medical field and neuroscience, which had greatly backed up new discoveries about the correlation between the mind, emotions, thoughts and the body, making so that mediation can walk the therapeutic ways and complementary health with more certainty and reliable results, as it is happening with acupuncture and yoga. Facing a promising scenario in the correlation between meditation and life’s quality, well being sensation and happiness, there is the possibility of using it in schools, since because of the difficulties and present challenges, those factors are not commonly associated with the acts of teaching and learning, and acupuncture and Yoga have more restrictions because of their own limitations of time and space necessary for their wide application. Therefore, the current study focused on contextualizing the meditation’s fundaments in the scientific perspective, and apply it, even if qualitatively, in two schools of Rio Claro municipality, researching 57 students from Educação de Jovens e Adultos (EJA). Therefore, it was chosen only one meditation tecnique to be applied on the treatment group. As for the control group, it perfomed normal breathing, i.e., without tecniques. The differences were then analyzed through the filmings of all the sessions of the meetings, counting the number of movements and the agitation among the students for the two groups. Another method of analysis was forms filled by both groups and the presence in a meeting at Unesp – Rio Claro. At the end,...

Análise cinemática da marcha livre e adaptativa de pacientes com doença de Parkinson e idosos sadios: efeito da dica auditiva

Disorders in gait are identified in Parkinson’s disease patients. As a result, the capacity of walking independently and the interaction with the environment can be impairment. So, the auditory cues have been utilized as a non-pharmacological treatment to improve the locomotor impairment of the PD patients. However, these effects were observed in the regular lands and it’s not known the effects of auditory cues in gait during avoidance obstacles that could be more threaten for these patients. Yet, few studies in the literature compare the Parkinson’s disease patients with the older adults during the locomotor tasks and obstacle avoidance in association with the effects of auditory cues. The aim of the study is to compare the effects of the auditory cues in the gait and during obstacle avoidance in PD patients and older adults. 30 subjects distributed in two groups (Group 1 - 15, Parkinson’s disease patients; Group 2 - 15, healthy older adults) are going to participate of this study. After the participation approval, the assessment of clinical condition will be done by a physician. So, to investigate the locomotor pattern, it will be done a kinematic analysis. The experimental task is to walk on 8 m pathway and 18 trials will be done (6 for the free gait and 12 for adaptive gait). For the adaptive gait, two different obstacle heights will be manipulated: high obstacle (HO) and low obstacle (LO). In order to verify possible differences between the groups and the experimental condition, multivariance tests will be used with a significance level of 0.05. MANOVA revealed effect of condition and task. Thus, with DA, we observed an increase in cadence and reduced single support and stride length. When the tasks were compared, it was observed that the LO task, subjects had lower velocity and stride length... 9Complete abstract click electronic access below)

Influência do enriquecimento ambiental nos padrões comportamentais de Galictis cuja, furão-pequeno, mantidos em cativeiro no zoológico municipal de Piracicaba, SP

Currently zoos and management centers are valuable tools in the maintenance and study of various species. Studies of behavior of captive animals contribute to the improvement of management techniques and the well - being of themselves, encouraging captive breeding and reintroduction also to the natural environment . One of the ways to increase the levels of well-being is the use of environmental enrichment techniques that provide necessary incentives for the welfare of both physical and psychological captive animal . The aim of this study was to identify the types, frequencies and intensities of behavior displayed by three individuals of the species Galictis cuja, belonging to the family Mustelidae and popularly known as lesser grisson , which are captives in municipal zoo in Piracicaba , SP . In addition to evaluating the influence of environmental enrichment techniques on these behavioral parameters. The animals had their behaviors recorded in ethograms through the focal sampling method , 40 hours per person , totaling 120 hours of observation . Were introduced four environmental enrichment techniques related to physical environment, nutrition , perception and cognitive stimulation . At the end, the results of observations before and after the introduction of enrichment techniques were compared and it was possible to observe significant changes in behavior such as run , walk and scratching . The animals were more active and spent longer visible during the day, the enrichment also increased the frequency of social behaviors and the end of the work occurred even attempted copulation , thus showing that the enrichment exerted a positive influence on the behavioral patterns of lesser grisson (Galictis cuja)

Uma proposta de intervenção com atividade física individualizada na deficiência intelectual: um estudo de caso

The practice of regular physical activity has been considered a protective factor against the degenerative processes of the body, acting as a promoter of health, especially for risk groups such as obese and resistant groups exercise adherence as among the intellectually disabled (ID) . This study involved the administration of a training protocol and the physical parameters of longitudinal health in a subject about 43 years, intellectually deficient, hypertensive, obese and with a strong predisposition to develop diabetes and heart disease. The main objective of long-term program was to reduce body weight and normalize blood pressure (BP) after the student's physical activity and preferentially interfere with BP values at rest (ie before the daily schedule). The other objective was to improve general physical fitness. The protocol involved four meetings per week lasting one hour, in addition to participation in the program PROEFA (twice a week with sessions of one hour each), totaling 57 sessions spread over five months. The evaluation protocol included in each session the following tests: blood pressure measurements and heart rate, and amount of physical activity recorded via pedometer. Tests applied before and after the training included: anthropometric assessment, agility test, flexibility test, test drive through vertical and horizontal jumps and endurance to the test bench. The mass (kg) and BMI corresponded to the initial values of 127.7 kg and 42.05 kg m-2, and 5 months after 113.2 kg and 37.48 kg m-2, respectively. The waist-hip ratio was close to 1 after the intervention and this value corresponded to 0.98. For the test of agility (shuttle run) was not found improvement in performance. To test the values of the horizontal jump in pre-test were 52 cm and 56 cm post-test, vertical jump has been improved and...(Complete abstract click electronic access below)

Dança de salão: perspectivas de satisfação e motivos de adesão

The need to practice physical activity of any kind grows day by day. People look for studios, clubs, parks, either to practice some kind of sport, gymnastics classes, workout or a good walk. Over the last few years, another option has arived arose, which is a little different from what we are used to see. We are talking about Ballroom Dance, a new alternative for thoses who wants or needs to practice some physical activity but is looking for a different environment. Ballroom Dance is growing, thanks to the media, it has been an effective option for whom seeks to fill her free time and gains benefits such as leisure, satisfaction, health and quality of live, etc. Therefore, the objectives of this study were: investigating the reasons that lead the people to look for classes like Ballroom Dance and identify the degree of satisfaction of these students regarding Ballroom Dance classes. Thirty eight students participated in this study: some came from a dance studio from Rio Claro (SP), some from a gym academy with Ballroom Dance classes from Campo Grande (MS) and some from a Ballroom Dance Program of Unesp, Rio Claro in the community. The participants of both genders, ageing between 18 to 60 years, were enpaped on Ballroom program for at least one month. They answered a questionnaire related to the issue. After analyzing the data it was confirmed that people seeks for Ballroom Dance because they like to dance, they feel pleasure to dance, besides feeling relaxed in the activity and because dancing brought them fun. Regarding the Degree of satisfaction, all of them stated being satisfied with Ballroom Dance.

Vasculhando baús de memórias do nazismo por imagens: olhares e possibilidades diversos

Pós-graduação em Educação - IBRC

Estudo do efeito de diferentes protocolos fisioterapêuticos no tratamento da osteoartrite de joelho

Pós-graduação em Saúde Coletiva - FMB

Avaliação da força, estresse muscular e marcadores inflamatórios de indivíduos com doença pulmonar obstrutiva crônica submetidos a treinamento resistido com tubos elásticos

Pós-graduação em Fisioterapia - FCT

Influence of training status and eNOS haplotypes on plasma nitrite concentrations in normotensive older adults: a hypothesis-generating study

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Impacto da doença de Parkinson sobre as características cinéticas e cinemáticas da tarefa de levantar e andar, em caidores e não caidores

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)