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)

Sagittal spinal alignment in paraplegics: a new paradigm for the rehabilitation under neuromuscular electrical stimulation

Study design: Radiographic analysis of sagittal spinal alignment of paraplegics in a standing position under surface neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES). Objectives: Describing the radiographic parameters of the sagittal spinal alignment of paraplegics going through a rehabilitation program with NMES. Setting: The University Hospital`s Ambulatory (UNICAMP), Campinas, Sao Paulo, Brazil. Methods: Panoramic X-ray images in profile were taken for 10 paraplegics. All patients participated in the rehabilitation program and were able to perform gait through NMES of the femoral quadriceps muscles. The radiographic parameters used for the analysis were the same as those described in the literature for healthy people. The results were didactically organized into three groups: anatomical shape of the spine, morphology and kinetics of the pelvis and spinopelvic alignment. Results: The physiological curvature of the spine in paraplegics showed average values similar to those described in the literature for healthy patients. The inversion of the pelvic tilt and the increase in the sacral slope were defined by the anterior backward rotation of the pelvis. The existing theoretical mathematical formulas that define lumbar lordosis, pelvic incidence and pelvic tilt showed normal values, despite the anterior intense sagittal imbalance. Conclusions: The adaptive posture of the spine in paraplegics standing through the stimulation of the femoral quadriceps does not allow for a neutral sagittal alignment. This novel radiographic detailed description of the various segments of the spine can be of assistance toward the understanding of the global postural control for such subjects. Spinal Cord (2010) 48, 251-256; doi: 10.1038/sc.2009.123; published online 29 September 2009

Texture alignment in simple shear

We illustrate the flow behaviour of fluids with isotropic and anisotropic microstructure (internal length, layering with bending stiffness) by means of numerical simulations of silo discharge and flow alignment in simple shear. The Cosserat theory is used to provide an internal length in the constitutive model through bending stiffness to describe isotropic microstructure and this theory is coupled to a director theory to add specific orientation of grains to describe anisotropic microstructure. The numerical solution is based on an implicit form of the Material Point Method developed by Moresi et al. [1].

Effect of fiber alignment in gelled electrospun membranes based on poly(vinylidene fluoride) for battery applications

Battery separators based on electrospun membranes of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) have been prepared in order to study the effect of fiber alignment on the performance and characteristics of the membrane. The prepared membranes show an average fiber diameter of 272 nm and a degree of porosity of 87 %. The gel polymer electrolytes are prepared by soaking the membranes in the electrolyte solution. The alignment of the fibers improves the mechanical properties for the electrospun membranes. Further, the microstructure of the membrane also plays an important role in the ionic conductivity, being higher for the random electrospun membrane due to the lower tortuosity value. Independently of the microstructure, both membranes show good electrochemical stability up to 5.0 V versus Li/Li+. These results show that electrospun membranes based on PVDF are appropriate for battery separators in lithium-ion battery applications, the random membranes showing a better overall performance.

Renormalization-group constraints on Yukawa alignment in multi-Higgs-doublet models

We write down the renormalization-group equations for the Yukawa-coupling matrices in a general multi-Higgs-doublet model. We then assume that the matrices of the Yukawa couplings of the various Higgs doublets to right-handed fermions of fixed quantum numbers are all proportional to each other. We demonstrate that, in the case of the two-Higgs-doublet model, this proportionality is preserved by the renormalization-group running only in the cases of the standard type-I, II, X, and Y models. We furthermore show that a similar result holds even when there are more than two Higgs doublets: the Yukawa-coupling matrices to fermions of a given electric charge remain proportional under the renormalization-group running if and only if there is a basis for the Higgs doublets in which all the fermions of a given electric charge couple to only one Higgs doublet.

Leading tone alignment in occitan disapproval statements

L’accent nuclear ascendent-descendent de les oracions expressant desacord en occità consta de tres tons: LH+L*. En comptes de precedir el to asterisc (“starred tone”) a un interval fix en temps normalitzat (Pierrehumbert & Beckman 1989), els tons menadors (“leading tones”) L i H s’alineen amb determinats punts d’ancoratge de la cadena de segments: les fronteres dreta i esquerra de la síl•laba pretònica, respectivament. El model de Grice (1995b) per a l’estructura dels accents tonals permet donar compte d’aquest patró d’alineació incloent els tons menadors en un node diferent que precedeix el que domina to seguidor (“trailing tone”) i to asterisc.

Enabling constructive alignment in programming instruction

In this thesis, simple methods have been sought to lower the teacher’s threshold to start to apply constructive alignment in instruction. From the phases of the instructional process, aspects that can be improved with little effort by the teacher have been identified. Teachers have been interviewed in order to find out what students actually learn in computer science courses. A quantitative analysis of the structured interviews showed that in addition to subject specific skills and knowledge, students learn many other skills that should be mentioned in the learning outcomes of the course. The students’ background, such as their prior knowledge, learning style and culture, affects how they learn in a course. A survey was conducted to map the learning styles of computer science students and to see if their cultural background affected their learning style. A statistical analysis of the data indicated that computer science students are different learners than engineering students in general and that there is a connection between the student’s culture and learning style. In this thesis, a simple self-assessment scale that is based on Bloom’s revised taxonomy has been developed. A statistical analysis of the test results indicates that in general the scale is quite reliable, but single students still slightly overestimate or under-estimate their knowledge levels. For students, being able to follow their own progress is motivating, and for a teacher, self-assessment results give information about how the class is proceeding and what the level of the students’ knowledge is.

GIS-based approach for optimization of onshore wind park infrastructure alignment in Finland

Wind power is a rapidly developing, low-emission form of energy production. In Fin-land, the official objective is to increase wind power capacity from the current 1 005 MW up to 3 500–4 000 MW by 2025. By the end of April 2015, the total capacity of all wind power project being planned in Finland had surpassed 11 000 MW. As the amount of projects in Finland is record high, an increasing amount of infrastructure is also being planned and constructed. Traditionally, these planning operations are conducted using manual and labor-intensive work methods that are prone to subjectivity. This study introduces a GIS-based methodology for determining optimal paths to sup-port the planning of onshore wind park infrastructure alignment in Nordanå-Lövböle wind park located on the island of Kemiönsaari in Southwest Finland. The presented methodology utilizes a least-cost path (LCP) algorithm for searching of optimal paths within a high resolution real-world terrain dataset derived from airborne lidar scannings. In addition, planning data is used to provide a realistic planning framework for the anal-ysis. In order to produce realistic results, the physiographic and planning datasets are standardized and weighted according to qualitative suitability assessments by utilizing methods and practices offered by multi-criteria evaluation (MCE). The results are pre-sented as scenarios to correspond various different planning objectives. Finally, the methodology is documented by using tools of Business Process Management (BPM). The results show that the presented methodology can be effectively used to search and identify extensive, 20 to 35 kilometers long networks of paths that correspond to certain optimization objectives in the study area. The utilization of high-resolution terrain data produces a more objective and more detailed path alignment plan. This study demon-strates that the presented methodology can be practically applied to support a wind power infrastructure alignment planning process. The six-phase structure of the method-ology allows straightforward incorporation of different optimization objectives. The methodology responds well to combining quantitative and qualitative data. Additional-ly, the careful documentation presents an example of how the methodology can be eval-uated and developed as a business process. This thesis also shows that more emphasis on the research of algorithm-based, more objective methods for the planning of infrastruc-ture alignment is desirable, as technological development has only recently started to realize the potential of these computational methods.

"Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference" : further exploration of attitude alignment in the context of close relationship dyads /

One hundred and five primarily Caucasian undergraduate couples were tested to study the phenomenon of attitude alignment, or the way in which individuals change their opinions to achieve greater attitudinal congruence with their romantic partners, and the hypotheses that relationship closeness, affect, attachment, social desirability, and centrality are each related to attitude alignment for individuals in close couples. The couples filled out an attitude questionnaire consisting of 50 issues in which they were asked to give their attitude on a scale from 1 to 9 as well as to rate the centrality, or importance, of that issue on a scale from 1 to 9. Before discussing four of these issues with each other - 2 were more central to the man and less central, or peripheral, to the woman, whereas the other 2 were central to the woman and peripheral to the man - the individuals completed established measures of relationship closeness, affect, attachment, and social desirability. The couples then filled out the identical attitudes questionnaire again, and their answers on the four discussion issues were compared to their prediscussion answers to determine whether attitude alignment had occurred. There were two experimental groups: a social desirability group, where the couples were told it was natural and normal to disagree with their partners, and a control group. Results indicated that attitude alignment did significantly occur across all couples, but most other variables - including centrality, relationship closeness, and affect - did not predict attitude alignment behaviour. As well, the social desirability experimental groups did not significantly differ on attitude alignment behaviours, but higher scores on the social desirability scale, specifically self-deception, significantly predicted higher attitude alignment scores across all couples. Large differences between individuals' frequency.

The effectiveness of directional microphone alignment in the Baha Divino

The primary objective of this research study is to determine if off-vertical directional microphone alignments of the Baha Divino significantly impact the Reception Threshold for Sentences (RTS, in dB) using the Hearing in Noise Test (HINT) in a diffuse listening situation.

Electric field alignment in thin films of cylinder-forming diblock copolymer

We investigate thin films of cylinder-forming diblock copolymer confined between electrically charged parallel plates, using self-consistent-field theory ( SCFT) combined with an exact treatment for linear dielectric materials. Our study focuses on the competition between the surface interactions, which tend to orient cylinder domains parallel to the plates, and the electric field, which favors a perpendicular orientation. The effect of the electric field on the relative stability of the competing morphologies is demonstrated with equilibrium phase diagrams, calculated with the aid of a weak-field approximation. As hoped, modest electric fields are shown to have a significant stabilizing effect on perpendicular cylinders, particularly for thicker films. Our improved SCFT-based treatment removes most of the approximations implemented by previous approaches, thereby managing to resolve outstanding qualitative inconsistencies among different approximation schemes.

Assessing pragmatic interoperability for process alignment in collaborative working environment

This paper is an extension of our previous study on pragmatic interoperability assessment for process alignment. In this study, we conduct four case studies in industrial companies and hospitals in order to gather their viewpoints regarding the concerns when condensing process alignment in a collaborative working environment. Used techniques include interview, observation, and documentation. The collected results firstly are summarised into three layers based on our previous developed pragmatic assessment model, and then are transformed into the elements which constitutes the purposed method, and finally based on the summarised results we purpose a method for assessing pragmatic interoperability for process alignment in collaborative working environment. The method contains two parts: one gives all the elements of pragmatic interoperability that should be concerned when considering process alignment in collaborative working environment, and the other one is a supplementary method for dealing with technical concerns.

Constructive alignment in Computer Engineering and Informatics departments at Dalarna University : An empirical investigation

Background: Constructive alignment (CA) is a pedagogical approach that emphasizes the alignment between the intended learning outcomes (ILOs), teaching and learning activities (TLAs) and assessment tasks (ATs) as well as creation of a teaching/learning environment where students will be able to actively create their knowledge. Objectives: This paper aims at investigating the extent of constructively-aligned courses in Computer Engineering and Informatics department at Dalarna University, Sweden. This study is based on empirical observations of teacher’s perceptions of implementation of CA in their courses. Methods: Ten teachers (5 from each department) were asked to fill a paper-based questionnaire, which included a number of questions related to issues of implementing CA in courses. Results: Responses to the items of the questionnaire were mixed. Teachers clearly state the ILOs in their courses and try to align the TLAs and ATs to the ILOs. Computer Engineering teachers do not explicitly communicate the ILOs to the students as compared to Informatics teachers. In addition, Computer Engineering teachers stated that their students are less active in learning activities as compared to Informatics teachers. When asked about their subjective ratings of teaching methods all teachers stated that their current teaching is teacher-centered but they try to shift the focus of activity from them to the students. Conclusions: From teachers’ perspectives, the courses are partially constructively-aligned. Their courses are “aligned”, i.e. ILOs, TLAs and ATs are aligned to each other but they are not “constructive” since, according to them, there was a low student engagement in learning activities, especially in Computer Engineering department.